Playlists and bookmarks in an interactive media guidance application system

ABSTRACT

Systems and method are provided for providing a playlist transport bar. The playlist transport bar provides an overlay which graphically represents assets (e.g., programs) of a playlist in a manner that enables a user to simultaneously ascertain a playback position within the playlist and a particular asset. The playlist transport may include asset regions which each correspond to an asset in a playlist and a position indication region which may provide information relating to a playback position.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/918,478, filed Jun. 14, 2013 (now allowed), which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/366,863, filed Mar. 2, 2006, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,489,990, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Nos. 60/667,870 and 60/658,270, filed Apr. 1, 2005 and Mar.2, 2005, respectively, each of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods forproviding playlists and bookmarks in interactive media guidanceapplication systems.

Playlists are known and may be used to determine the order in whichassets (e.g., television programs, songs, etc.) are played. As definedherein, an asset refers to any type of media that may be played. Suchmedia may include all the variants of television media, music media,interactive games, and other audio and/or video media. Assets may beadded to a playlist, deleted from a playlist, or rearranged in aplaylist. Various user interfaces are provided to enable a user to makesuch modifications to playlists.

Playlists may include several assets of similar or different media typesranging, for example, from two to several hundreds or thousands ofassets. Thus, when the playtime of each asset is totaled, a substantialamount of time may be required to playback the entire playlist. Sinceplaylists may include several assets, a user may wish to be providedwith information related to the playback of assets in a particularplaylist. For example, a user may be interested in knowing how much timehas elapsed during playback of a playlist or an asset, or how much timeis remaining in the playlist or the asset. Known systems may be able toprovide information as to how much time has elapsed and give anindication as to how much time remains for a given asset, but thesesystems are limited to providing such information for only that onegiven asset and are further unable to simultaneously provide informationthat gives a user a sense of position within a playlist. Moreover, someof these systems require a full screen display to display suchinformation, thereby preventing a user from simultaneously viewingprogramming and information related to a playlist.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods forproviding information in a manner that enables a user to easilyascertain a playback position within a playlist and a particular asset.

It is also desirable to provide systems and methods for playlist andbookmark related features.

It is further desirable to provide systems and method for providing VODprogram information screens that provide access to playlist and bookmarkfeatures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, systems andmethods are provided for providing a playlist transport bar. Theplaylist transport bar provides an overlay which graphically representsassets of a playlist in a manner that enables a user to simultaneouslyascertain a playback position within the playlist and a particularasset. As defined herein, a playback position is the positioncorresponding to a particular position in the playlist, including aparticular asset, being accessed (e.g., played, paused, rewinded,fast-forwarded, skipped to the beginning of next asset, etc.). Forexample, if a program is paused at the half-way point of an asset (e.g.,a VOD program), the playback position is at the half-way point of thatasset. As another example, if the user is viewing the third hour of fivehours of total programming for a playlist, the playback position is atthe three-hour elapsed time position for all programming in the playlist(even though the playlist position may also be at, for example, a twentyminute elapsed time position for a currently playing asset).

The playlist transport bar may include several asset regions eachcorresponding to an asset in the playlist and a position indicationregion that provides an indication of the playback position. The mannerin which asset regions are displayed may vary, depending on a number offactors. In one embodiment, an asset region for each asset in theplaylist may be displayed in the playlist transport bar. In thisapproach, the interactive media guidance application may appropriatelysize each asset region to fit within the playlist transport bar. Theinteractive media application may apportion each asset region to be thesame size, regardless of the playback time for the assets.Alternatively, the interactive media application may apportion a size toeach asset region based on its playback time relative to the playbacktimes of other assets in the playlist, while taking into account thelimited display space provided in the playlist transport bar. Forexample, a two-hour long asset may be apportioned a larger size than ahalf-hour long asset.

In another embodiment, the playlist transport bar may display a limitednumber of asset regions so as to not saturate the playlist transport barwith asset regions corresponding to all the potential assets of aplaylist. By limiting the number of asset regions displayed in theplaylist transport bar at any given time, this allows the interactivemedia guidance application to appropriate a predetermined minimum amountof space to each displayed region. The spacing allotted to each regionmay accurately reflect the length of a particular asset with respect tothe other shown assets. For example, a two-hour program may be presentedin an asset region that is two times larger than an hour long program.In addition, in this embodiment, information may be provided thatprovides an indication of the playback position within the playlist.

The position indication region may serve as a visual indicator thatmoves along the transport bar and provides information relating to aplayback position within the playlist and/or a particular asset. Theposition indication region may include a position needle and aninformation region. The position needle may provide a visual indicationof a playback position within the playlist and/or a particular asset.For example, in one embodiment, the position needle may indicate boththe playback position within a particular asset and the playlist. Inanother embodiment, the position needle may only indicate the positionwithin an asset. In this latter embodiment, the information region mayprovide information relating to the playback position within theplaylist. The information region may display other information such asthe elapsed time of the currently accessed asset, which action (e.g.,pausing, fast-forwarding, resuming play, etc.) the user is implementing,or any other information relating to the playback of assets in aplaylist.

In one embodiment, the user may “drag and drop” the position indicationregion to a desired location using, for example, cursor arrows of aremote device. This allows a user to manually position the positionindication region at any playback position on the transport bar, therebyproviding a user with the ability to resume playback of any asset in theplaylist at a particular playback position. In another embodiment, theinteractive media guidance application may permit a user to “skip to thenext” asset region. This may permit a user to skip to the beginning ofan adjacent asset region.

The playlist transport bar may allow a user to navigate a highlightregion to various elements within the transport bar, and, if desired,select the highlighted regions. For example, a user may navigate ahighlight region to the asset regions, the position indication region,and other areas of the transport bar such as a playlist name region.Additional information or menus may be displayed depending on whichelements of the transport bar are highlighted or selected.

The playlist transport bar may allow a user to modify (e.g., delete anasset) the playlist without requiring the user to access interactivemedia guidance application features specifically dedicated to allowing auser to modify a playlist. In addition, the playlist transport bar mayallow a user to switch to another playlist, thereby enabling the user toplayback assets of a different playlist.

In other embodiments, systems and methods are provided for playlist andbookmark related features. In addition, systems and method are alsoprovided for providing VOD program information screens that provideaccess to playlist and bookmark features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention, its nature andvarious advantages will be more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative interactive media guidance systemin accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows an illustrative VOD menu with a “My Playlists” option forproviding a user with access to playlist features in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative no playlists set overlay that may bedisplayed when the user selects the My Playlist option from the VOD menuof FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative screen that may be displayed when the userselects a Set up Playlist button on the No Playlist Set Overlay of FIG.3 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative playlists list in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative playlist with programs screen showing ahighlighted program in accordance with embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative playlist with programs screen showing anoption for allowing a user to change the order the programs in theplaylist in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative playlist with programs screen showing ahighlight region that can be navigated to a checkbox in accordance withan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative playlist with programs screen showing thata checkbox of FIG. 8 can be selected to indicate that the programassociated with the selected checkbox is to be deleted from the playlistin accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative keyboard overlay in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative overlay that allows a user to select aplaylist from a list of playlists in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative overlay informing a user that additionalplaylists cannot be created in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 13 shows an illustrative overlay informing a user that additionalprograms cannot be added to a playlist in accordance with an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 14 shows an illustrative overlay indicating that a program has beensuccessfully added to a playlist in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 15 shows an illustrative overlay providing a user with variousdeletion options in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative overlay confirming deletion of a playlistin accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 shows an illustrative overlay that may be displayed when a userselects a lock action icon in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 18 shows an illustrative search screen that may be provided when auser selects a search action icon in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 19 shows an alternative search screen that may be provided when auser selects a search action icon in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 20 shows an illustrative clear all programs confirmation overlaythat may be displayed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 shows an illustrative bookmark a VOD program confirmationdisplay in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 shows an illustrative previously bookmarked confirmation overlaythat may be displayed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 23 shows an illustrative saved programs listing screen inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 24 shows an alternative illustrative saved programs listings screenin accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25 shows an illustrative delete video confirmation overlay inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 26 shows an illustrative transport bar for playing back programs inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 27 shows an alternative illustrative transport bar for playing backprograms in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 28 shows an illustrative playlist transport bar that displays aregion for each asset in the playlist in accordance with an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 29 shows an illustrative playlist transport bar in which the numberof regions displayed are limited in number in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 30 shows an example of the playlist transport bar of FIG. 29 inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 31 shows a playlist transport toolbar that may be displayed whenthe user is implementing a command that affects playback of an asset inthe playlist in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 32, 33, 34A-B, 35A-B, and 36 show several illustrative playlisttransport bars in which a user may navigate a highlight region withinthe playlist transport bar, and, if desired, cause a particular actionto occur in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 37 shows a flowchart of illustrative steps in displaying a playlisttransport bar in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 38 shows an illustrative VOD program information screen that may bedisplayed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 39 shows an alternative illustrative VOD program information screenthat may be displayed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This document is divided into five major Sections. Section I describesan illustrative system architecture for an interactive media guidanceapplication system in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention. Section II describes playlist-related features in accordancewith various embodiments of the present invention. Section III describesbookmark-related features in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent invention. Section IV describes an illustrative transport barfor playback of programs from playlists in accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention. Section V describes illustrativeVOD program information screens for providing access to playlist andbookmark features in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention.

Section I. Illustrative System Architecture

An illustrative interactive media system in accordance with theprinciples of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. User equipment 10receives content in the form of signals from media source 20 overcommunications path 22.

Media source 20 may be any suitable content source such as, for example,a cable system headend, satellite television distribution facility,television broadcast facility, or any other suitable facility fororiginating or distributing content. Media source 20 may be configuredto transmit signals over any suitable communications path 22 including,for example, a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, or anyother suitable wired or wireless path. The signals may carry anysuitable content such as, for example, television programs, internet,music, news, television program listings, or any other suitable media.

VOD server 26 provides on-demand programs and associated VOD programdata (e.g., VOD titles, VOD descriptions, VOD prices (if applicable),VOD viewing window data and other VOD metadata). VOD server 26 storesthe VOD program data in, and retrieves the data from, database 28. Asdiscussed below, VOD server 26 may also, in some embodiments, storeplaylists and saved program lists for users of user equipment 10 indatabase 28. VOD server 26 exchanges messages and media with userequipment 10 over communications path 22, but in other embodimentscommunications may be exchanged over a separate path (not shown). VODserver 26 may reside, for example, in a cable system headend. Ifdesired, VOD server may also be a media source.

User equipment 10 may include any suitable equipment including, forexample, computer equipment (e.g., a personal computer with a televisioncard (PCTV)), television equipment, or any other suitable equipment. Thetelevision equipment may include a television, set-top box, recordingdevice, video player, user input device (e.g., remote control, keyboard,mouse, touch pad, touch screen, voice recognition interface, etc.) orany other device suitable for providing an interactive televisionexperience having features described in the various embodiments below.In the example of FIG. 1, user equipment 10 includes at least controlcircuitry 18, display device 12 and recording device 14, and user inputdevice 16, which may be implemented as separate devices or as a singledevice. An interactive media guidance application may be implemented onthe user equipment to display, on display device 12, the contenttransmitted by media source 20 over path 22, and to provide interactivemedia guidance application features. The interactive media guidanceapplication may also provide users with access to VOD content and VODdata from VOD server 26.

Recording device 14 may be any of a personal video recorder, digitalvideo recorder (DVR), video cassette recorder (VCR), DVD-recorder, orany other suitable video recorder. Recording device 14 may include oneor more tuners. Recording device 14 may record programs under thecontrol of the interactive media guidance application that resides onuser equipment 10.

Display device 140 may be any suitable device including, for example, atelevision monitor and a computer monitor. Display device 140 may alsobe configured to provide for the output of audio.

The user equipment may include control circuitry 18 adapted to receiveuser instructions and execute the operations of an interactive mediaguidance application, such as an interactive program guide application.Control circuitry 18 may include one or more tuners (e.g., analog ordigital tuners), decoders (e.g., MPEG decoders) processors, memory(e.g., RAM and hard disks), communications circuitry (e.g., cable modemcircuitry for two-way communications with VOD server 26), input/outputcircuitry (e.g., graphics circuitry), and connections to the variousdevices of user equipment 10, and any other suitable component forproviding analog or digital television programming, program recording,and interactive media guidance features. Control circuitry 18 may beconfigured to execute the instructions of the interactive media guidanceapplication from memory. In one embodiment, control circuitry 18 may beincluded as part of one of the devices of user equipment 10 such as, forexample, part of recording device 14, display 12, or any other device(e.g., a set-top box, television, video player, etc.).

User equipment 10 may receive interactive media guidance applicationdata from one or more data sources 24. The number of data sources 24 maydepend on the number of interactive media guidance applications. Forexample, one data source 24 may provide interactive media guidance datafor non-on-demand assets (e.g., non-pay and pay-per-view televisionprograms), and another may provide data for home shopping applicationdata. In some embodiments VOD data (e.g., VOD programs) and programguide data may be provided to user equipment 10 by a data source 24. Insuch embodiments VOD server 26 may still provide VOD content.

In some embodiments, data sources 24 may provide data to the interactivemedia guidance application using a suitable client/server approach.There may be one server per data source or, in some embodiments, asingle server may communicate as a proxy between user equipment 10 andvarious data sources 24.

The playlist and bookmark features described below are described asprovided in embodiments where user equipment 10 provides an interactivemedia guidance application such as interactive television program guide.In such embodiments, user equipment 10 may include a Motorola DCT seriessettop box. Program guide instructions are executed by control circuitry18 (FIG. 1). Program guide data is received from a data source 24 andstored by control circuitry 18. Control circuitry 18 executes programguide instructions and retrieves program guide data from memory whendisplaying program guide screens on display device 12. The displays maybe provided in response to user instructions received by an input device16, such as a remote control.

In these embodiments, the program guide may be programmed withextensions for communicating with a vendor-specific VOD server 26. Theprogram guide extensions may call VOD-vendor-specific objects that maycontain vendor-specific code for requesting VOD data from a VOD server26, and for accessing content from VOD server 26. VOD server 26 maystore data for some features provided by the interactive media guidanceapplication such as, for example, playlist and saved program list data.

For purposes of clarity, the following discussion may sometimes describean embodiment in which the interactive media guidance application is aninteractive television program guide or interactive televisionapplication. It will be understood, however, that the followingdiscussion and the features discussed may be applied to any interactivemedia guidance application such as, for example, an online program guideor a Website.

Section II. Playlists

Some embodiments of the present invention provide features for creatingand managing playlists. Playlists are lists of programs that aninteractive television application will play back sequentially for theuser. Users may select one or more programs for inclusion in a playlist.After creating a playlist, the user can select the playlist forplayback. Each program in the playlist is played back for the user, oneafter another in time. In some embodiments, real-time features such aspause, stop, fast-forward and rewind may be provided to allow the userto control playback of programs in the playlist. In some embodiments,the interactive application may recommend programs for inclusion in aplaylist, or provide pre-made playlists.

An illustrative set of playlist features in an embodiment where userscreate and manage playlists of free VOD programs using an interactivetelevision program guide (IPG) is described below. This is onlyillustrative, as such features may be incorporated in embodiments inwhich playlists include other types of programs (e.g., recorded programs(such as programs recorded on recording device 14 of FIG. 1), andnon-free on-demand programs), and in which the interactive televisionapplication is not an IPG.

FIG. 2 below shows an illustrative VOD menu with a “My Playlists” optionfor providing a user with access to playlist features. In otherembodiments, users may access playlist features from other menus ordisplays, such as an IPG main menu or VOD program information screen(see Section V below) for example. In this layout, the VOD menu includesa barker window for video clips.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative No Playlists Set Overlay that may bedisplayed when the user selects My Playlists from the VOD Main Menu ofFIG. 2, or other IPG menus or screens, and no playlists have beencreated. Tables 1 and 2 describe illustrative behaviors of the IPGand/or VOD server 26 in connection with providing such an overlay.

TABLE 1 Illustrative No Playlists Set Overlay System Description No.Description 1.0 The Guide may display the No Playlists Set Overlay whenthe user selects My Playlists from the VOD Main Menu or other menus orscreens provided by the Guide and no playlists have been created. 1.1The Guide may display the title “NO PLAYLISTS SET” on the No PlaylistsSet Overlay in the language specified by the user in the Guide setup, inyellow text. 1.2 The Guide may display the prompt “Would you like to setup a playlist now?” on the No Playlists Set Overlay in the languagespecified by the user in Guide setup, in white text. 1.3 The Guide maydisplay the OK/Yes icon on the No Playlists Set Overlay with the label“Set up Playlist” in the language specified by the user in the Guidesetup, in white text. 1.4 The Guide may display the Cancel icon on theNo Playlists Set Overlay with the label “Don't set up Playlist” in thelanguage specified by the user in the Guide setup, in white text. 2.0The default highlight may be the OK/Yes icon. 3.0 Except as specified inthis section, this confirmation screen may follow the descriptionprovided in the Common Confirmation Overlay section in the Appendix. 4.0New “default” playlists may be named automatically according to thefollowing format: “Playlist <lowest positive integer not already used toname a playlist>”.

TABLE 2 Illustrative No Playlists Set Overlay Action Icon Table No. NameCondition Description 1.0 Set up Always Creates a new, empty playlistand Playlist present displays the Default Playlist Screen for the newplaylist. 2.0 Don't set up Always Dismisses the No Playlists SetOverlay. Playlist present

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative screen that may be displayed when the userselects the Set up Playlist button on the No Playlists Set Overlay,selects the Add Icon on the Playlists List, or accesses an existingplaylist that contains no programs. The Default Playlist screen showsdefault information for a playlist when it is empty. Tables 3-9 describeillustrative behaviors of the IPG and/or VOD server 26 in connectionwith providing such a screen.

TABLE 3 Illustrative Default Playlist Screen Instant Information No.Line Format Description 1.0 1 Left Justified The default playlist name,in the form “Playlist <lowest positive integer not already used to namea playlist>”, displayed in yellow 1.1 1 Right Justified The text“Contains 0 programs” in the language specified by the user at Guidesetup, displayed in white 2.0 2 Left Justified The text “0min” in thelanguage specified by the user at Guide setup, displayed in white 3.0 3Left Justified The text “Select below to name, delete, and lock yourPlaylist.” in the language specified by the user at Guide setup,displayed in white

TABLE 4 Illustrative Default Playlist Screen Reader Box Display No. LineFormat Description 1.0 1 Left The text “To add programs to thisPlaylist:” in Justified the language specified by the viewer in Guidesetup, displayed in yellow 2.0 2 Blank 3.0 3 Left The text “1) Find aprogram you would like to Justified add.” in the language specified bythe viewer in Guide setup, displayed in white 4.0 4 Left The text “2) Goto the information screen and Justified select <Playlist Icon>.” in thelanguage specified by the viewer in Guide setup, displayed in white 5.05 Left The text “3) Select the Playlist to add the Justified programto.” in the language specified by the viewer in Guide setup, displayedin white 6.0 6 Blank 7.0 7 Left The text “Also select <Search Icon>below to Justified search for programs to add.” in the languagespecified by the user at Guide setup, displayed in white

TABLE 5 Illustrative Default Playlist Screen Action Icon Table No. NameCondition Description 1.0 Last Always present Displays the previousscreen 2.0 Keyboard Always present Displays the Playlist KeyboardOverlay 3.0 Search Always present Displays the Playlist Search Screen.4.0 Lock Always present Displays the Lock Playlist Overlay 5.0 DeleteAlways present Displays the Delete Playlist Confirmation Overlay

TABLE 6 Illustrative Default Playlist Screen Input Key Processing No.Key Screen Focus Behavior 1.0 Power Any Normal 2.0 Volume Any Normal Up3.0 Volume Any Normal Down 4.0 Mute Any Normal 5.0 Channel Any Normal Up6.0 Channel Any Normal Down 7.0 Bypass Any Normal 8.0 Menu Any Normal9.0 Guide Any Normal 10.0 Music Any Normal 11.0 Themes Any Normal 12.0Search Any Normal 13.0 Settings Any Normal 14.0 Exit Any Normal 15.0Last Any Normal 16.0 Right Any action icon Normal Arrow but farthestright 16.1 Right Farthest right The Guide may move the Arrow action iconhighlight to the farthest left action icon. 17.0 Left Any action iconNormal Arrow but farthest left 17.1 Left Farthest left The Guide maymove the Arrow action icon highlight to the farthest right action icon.18.0 Up Arrow Any Inactive 19.0 Down Any Inactive Arrow 20.0 OK Any SeeTable 5 21.0 Digits 0-9 Any Normal 22.0 Scroll Up Any Inactive 23.0Scroll Any Inactive Down 24.0 Day Any Inactive Forward 25.0 Day Back AnyInactive 26.0 Help Any Inactive 27.0 Info Any Inactive 28.0 Favorite AnyInactive 29.0 Lock Any Displays the Lock Playlist Overlay 30.0 RecordAny Inactive 31.0 Stop Any Inactive 32.0 Pause Any Inactive 33.0 PlayAny Inactive 34.0 Rewind Any Inactive 35.0 Fast Any Inactive Forward36.0 PPV Any Normal 37.0 Letters A-Z Any Inactive 38.0 VOD Any Inactive39.0 Return to Any Inactive Live TV 40.0 Skip Any Inactive Forward 41.0Replay Any Inactive 42.0 A Any Inactive 43.0 B Any Inactive 44.0 C AnyInactive 45.0 Digital Any Normal Recordings 46.0 Swap Any Inactive

TABLE 7 Illustrative Default Playlist Screen Other Event Handling No.Event Conditions/Comments 1.0 Screen Timeout Normal 2.0 Reminder Normal3.0 Scheduled Recording Fires Normal 4.0 Ordered PPV Start Normal 5.0PPV Purchase Window Inactive Expires 6.0 Current Program Ends Normal 7.0Data added, deleted or Normal modified in database

TABLE 8 Illustrative Default Playlist Screen Screen/Mode Entry No.Functionality Description 1.0 Guide The Default Playlist Screen may beavailable Initialization as soon as the VOD feature is available. 2.0Highlight The default highlight may be the Last icon on the Action IconBar 3.0 Display Inclusion Not applicable Criteria 4.0 Sorting/GroupingNot applicable Criteria 5.0 Customization The OnDemand icon may beMSO-configurable. 6.0 Other Entry Not applicable Actions

TABLE 9 Illustrative Default Playlist Screen Formatting No.Functionality Description 1.0 Program Title Not applicable 2.0 TimeNormal 3.0 Channel Not applicable 4.0 Other Text Not Applicable 5.0Colors Normal 6.0 Indicators Not applicable 7.0 Branding Not Applicable8.0 Audio Normal 9.0 LEDs Normal

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative playlists list. The Playlists List displaysthe user's current playlists. It is displayed when the user selects MyPlaylists from the VOD Main Menu or other menus or screens, and one ormore playlists have already been created. Playlists can be added andaccessed from this screen. Tables 10-17 describe illustrative behaviorsof the IPG and or VOD server 26 in connection with providing such ascreen.

TABLE 10 Illustrative Playlists List Screen System Description No.Description 1.0 VOD server 26 may maintain a list of playlists for eachdistinct subscriber household. 1.1 The list of playlists may be orderedaccording to the date and time of playlist creation, beginning with themost recently created playlist. 2.0 When the Guide requests the list ofplaylists, and if more than one playlist has been created, VOD server 26may provide the list of playlists to the Guide. 2.1 VOD server 26 willpage up or down within the Playlist List screen to allow viewingadditional playlist list pages. 3.0 VOD server 26 may maintain at leastthe following metadata for each playlist in the playlist list: Playlistname Number of programs in playlist Total duration of playlist 4.0 VODserver 26 may add a new playlist in response to requests from the Guideto add a new playlist. 4.1 VOD server 26 may allow the creation of upto, e.g., 24 playlists per STB. 4.2 VOD server 26 may communicate anerror to the Guide if a request is made to add a new playlist, and themaximum number of playlists has been reached for the STB. 5.0 VOD server26 may provide an existing playlist in response to requests from theGuide to access an existing playlist. 6.0 VOD server 26 may maintain andtransfer playlist specifications across STB replacements.

TABLE 11 Illustrative Playlists List General Description No. Description1.0 The Playlists List may display the Playlists icon, followed by thetitle “My Playlists” in the language specified by the user at Guidesetup, centered in white text in the screen header area. 2.0 The maximumnumber of playlists that can be created may be, e.g., 24.

TABLE 12 Illustrative Playlists List Instant Information No. Line FormatDescription 1.0 1 Left The name of the highlighted playlist if thereJustified are existing playlists when the screen is invoked, displayedin yellow 1.1 1 Right The text “Contains <number> Programs” in Justifiedthe language specified by the user at Guide setup, displayed in white,if there are existing playlists when the screen is invoked, where<number> is the number of videos in the highlighted playlist 1.2 1 LeftThe text “No Playlists have been created” in Justified the languagespecified by the user at Guide setup, displayed in yellow, if noplaylists currently exist when the screen is invoked 1.3 1 Blank ifthere are existing playlists when the screen is invoked and no playlistis highlighted 2.0 2 Left Runtime of the highlighted playlist (totalJustified runtime of all programs in the playlist) if there are existingplaylists when the screen is invoked 2.1 2 Blank if no playlistscurrently exist when the screen is invoked or no playlist is highlighted3.0 3 The text “Select <Add Action Icon> below to create a newPlaylist.” in the language specified by the user at Guide setup,displayed in white

TABLE 13 Illustrative Playlists List Action Icon Table No. NameCondition Description 1.0 Last Always present Displays the previousscreen 2.0 VOD Always present Displays the VOD Main Menu 3.0 Down Alwayspresent Displays the next page of Arrow playlist listings 3.1 DownAlways present Inactive if no additional pages Arrow are available belowthe current page of playlists. 4.0 New Always present Displays theDefault Playlist screen if Playlist the maximum number of playlists hasnot been reached 4.1 New Always present Displays the Maximum PlaylistsNotice Playlist if the maximum number of playlists has been reached

TABLE 14 Illustrative Playlists List Input Key Processing No. Key ScreenFocus Behavior 1.0 Power Any Normal 2.0 Volume Any Normal Up 3.0 VolumeAny Normal Down 4.0 Mute Any Normal 5.0 Channel Any Normal Up 6.0Channel Any Normal Down 7.0 Bypass Any Normal 8.0 Menu Any Normal 9.0Guide Any Normal 10.0 Music Any Normal 11.0 Themes Any Normal 12.0Search Any Normal 13.0 Settings Any Normal 14.0 Exit Any The Guide mayreturn to Idle Mode and display and Flip Banner. 15.0 Last Any Normal16.0 Right List Cell Inactive Arrow 16.1 Right Any action icon NormalArrow but farthest right 16.2 Right Farthest right The Guide may movethe highlight to the Arrow action icon farthest left action icon. 17.0Left List Cell Inactive Arrow 17.1 Left Any action icon Normal Arrow butfarthest left 17.2 Left Farthest left The Guide may move the highlightto the Arrow action icon farthest right action icon. 18.0 Up Arrow Toplist cell on Inactive first page 18.1 Up Arrow Top list cell, The Guidemay display the previous page and any but first highlight the lowestselectable list cell. page 18.2 Up Arrow Any list cell but The Guide maymove the highlight to the next the top on the higher list cell. page18.3 Up Arrow Any Action The Guide may move the highlight to the Iconlowest list cell on the current page. 19.0 Down Any list cell but TheGuide may move the highlight to the next Arrow the last on the lowerlist cell on the page. page 19.1 Down Last list cell on The Guide maymove the highlight to the Arrow the page default action icon. 19.2 DownAny Action Inactive Arrow Icon except Down Arrow 19.3 Down Down ArrowThe Guide may display the next page and Arrow action icon, any highlightthe highest selectable list cell. page but the last 19.4 Down Down ArrowInactive Arrow action icon, last page 20.0 OK Any list cell If thehighlighted playlist contains at least one program, is not locked anddoes not contain any programs that are locked, the Guide may requestdata for the highlighted playlist from VOD server 26 and display thePlaylist Information Screen. 20.1 OK Any list cell If the highlightedplaylist contains at least one program, and is locked or contains anyprograms that are locked, the Guide may display the Lock PIN Overlay.20.2 OK Any list cell If the highlighted playlist does not contain anyprograms, the Guide may request data for the highlighted playlist fromVOD server 26 and display the Default Playlist screen. 20.3 OK Anyaction icon See Table 13. 21.0 Digits 0-9 Any Normal 22.0 Scroll Up AnyNormal 23.0 Scroll Any Normal Down 24.0 Day Any Inactive Forward 25.0Day Back Any Inactive 26.0 Help Any Inactive 27.0 Info Any list cell Ifthe highlighted playlist contains at least one program, is not lockedand does not contain any programs that are locked, the Guide may requestdata for the highlighted playlist from VOD server 26 and display thePlaylist Information Screen. 27.1 Info Any list cell If the highlightedplaylist contains at least one program, and is locked or contains anyprograms that are locked, the Guide may display the Lock PIN Overlay.27.2 Info Any list cell If the highlighted playlist does not contain anyprograms, the Guide may request data for the highlighted playlist fromVOD server 26 and displays the Default Playlist screen. 27.3 Info Anyaction icon Inactive 28.0 Favorite Any Inactive 29.0 Lock Any Inactive30.0 Record Any Inactive 31.0 Stop Any Inactive 32.0 Pause Any Inactive33.0 Play Any Inactive 34.0 Rewind Any Inactive 35.0 Fast Any InactiveForward 36.0 PPV Any Normal 37.0 Letters A-Z Any Inactive 38.0 VOD AnyInactive 39.0 Return to Any Normal Live TV 40.0 Skip Any InactiveForward 41.0 Replay Any Inactive 42.0 A Any Inactive 43.0 B Any Inactive44.0 C Any Inactive 45.0 DVR Any Normal 46.0 Swap Any Inactive

TABLE 15 Illustrative Playlists List Other Event Handling No. EventConditions/Comments 1.0 Screen Timeout Normal 2.0 Reminder Normal 3.0Scheduled Recording Fires Normal 4.0 Ordered PPV Start Normal 5.0 PPVPurchase Window Inactive Expires 6.0 Current Program Ends Normal

TABLE 16 Illustrative Playlists List Screen/Mode Entry No. FunctionalityDescription 1.0 Guide The Playlists List Screen may be available asInitialization soon as the VOD feature is available. 2.0 Highlight Ifthere are existing playlists, the default highlight may be the firstplaylist on the page. 2.1 Highlight If there are no existing playlists,the default highlight may be the Add Action Icon. 2.2 Highlight If theuser navigates from a list cell to the action icons, the default actionicon may be the Down Arrow Action Icon. 3.0 Display Display all existingplaylists. Inclusion Criteria 4.0 Sorting/ The playlists may bedisplayed in order of Grouping Criteria creation time, from newest tooldest. 5.0 Customization The OnDemand icon may be MSO- configurable.

TABLE 17 Illustrative Playlists List Screen Formatting No. FunctionalityDescription 1.0 Program Title Not applicable 2.0 Time Normal 3.0 ChannelNot applicable 4.0 Other Text Not applicable 5.0 Colors Normal 6.0Indicators Not applicable 7.0 Branding Not applicable 8.0 Audio Normal9.0 LEDs The Guide may display the last user channel or current time onthe LED according to the description provided in the Appendix fortime/channel display on the LED.

FIGS. 6-9 show illustrative Playlist with Programs Screens that may bedisplayed when the user selects a playlist from the Playlist List andthe playlist contains one or more programs, or when the user selects theAdd action icon on the Select a Playlist overlay. Tables 18-25 describeillustrative behaviors of the IPG and/or VOD server 26 in connectionwith providing such screens.

TABLE 18 Illustrative Playlist with Programs Screen System DescriptionNo. Description 1.0 VOD server 26 may maintain the playlists contentsfor each playlist stored for a STB. 1.1 Playlist contents may onlyinclude VOD programs that are free for all users without anysubscription or purchase. 1.2 VOD server 26 may maintain the sequence ofVOD programs within a VOD playlist. 2.0 VOD server 26 may include up to,e.g., 24 distinct VOD assets within a VOD playlist. 3.0 VOD server 26may reposition individual VOD assets within the VOD playlist sequence.4.0 VOD server 26 may automatically delete programs from a VOD playlistif they reach the end of their licensing window. 4.1 VOD server 26 maydelete expired programs from a VOD playlist on a periodic, scheduledbasis. 5.0 VOD server 26 may automatically delete programs from a VODplaylist if they not longer meet the eligibility criteria for inclusionin a playlist. 5.1 VOD server 26 may delete ineligible programs from aVOD playlist on a periodic, scheduled basis. 6.0 VOD server 26 maymaintain and transfer playlist specifications across STB replacements.7.0 VOD server 26 may allow users to delete VOD programs from a VODplaylist. 8.0 VOD server 26 may maintain a record of the last playbackposition from the last time the playlist was played. 8.1 If the VODprogram encompassing the last playback position is deleted from theplaylist, the playback position may be moved to the beginning of thenext asset in the playlist. 8.2 If the VOD program encompassing the lastplayback position is deleted from the playlist, and was the last assetin the playlist, the playback position may be moved to the beginning ofthe playlist. 9.0 VOD server 26 may play back a VOD playlist from thebeginning. 10.0 VOD server 26 may play back a VOD playlist from the lastplayback position. 11.0 VOD server 26 may page up or down within thePlaylist with Programs screen, to allow additional program listing pageswithin the playlist to be viewed.

TABLE 19 Illustrative Playlist with Programs Screen General DescriptionNo. Description 1.0 The Playlist with Programs screen may include: ascreen header area an instant information area a playlist sequence areaan action icon area 2.0 The playlist sequence area may include: asequence number column a program title column a deletion checkboxcolumn. 2.1 Each of the columns in the playlist sequence area may have aheader row. 2.1.1 The Guide displays the heading text “Order” in theheader row of the sequence number column, center justified, in thelanguage specified by the user at Guide setup, in white. 2.1.2 The Guidedisplays the heading text “Program Titles” in the header row of theprogram title column, left justified, in the language specified by theuser at Guide setup, in white. 2.1.3 The Guide may display a checkbox ina “checked” state in the header row of the deletion checkbox column,left justified, in white. 3.0 If the user plays a playlist, any programwithin the playlist that is no longer available from VOD server 26 maybe skipped over with no notification to the user1. 4.0 If the user playsa playlist, any program within the playlist that is no longer free forall users, without any subscription or purchase, may be skipped overwith no notification to the user2. 5.0 Each distinct row within theplaylist sequence area may represent a distinct program within theplaylist. 5.1 The cell in the sequence number column, on a specific rowin the playlist sequence area, may include the program's sequencenumber, centered in black text. 5.2 The cell in the program titlecolumn, on a specific row in the playlist sequence area, may include thefull program title, left justified in white text. 5.3 The cell in thedeletion checkbox column, on a specific row in the playlist sequencearea, may include a checkbox that is in either a checked or an uncheckedstate, left justified. 5.3.1 The default state of all checkboxes in thedeletion checkbox column may be unchecked.

-   -   ¹ While VOD server 26 may automatically delete such programs, a        playlist containing such a program may be played before the        deletion is performed.    -   ² While VOD server 26 may automatically delete such programs, a        playlist containing such a program may be played before the        deletion is performed.

TABLE 20 Illustrative Playlist with Programs Screen Instant InformationNo. Line Format Description 1.0 1 Left The name of the playlist,displayed in yellow Justified 1.1 1 Right The text “Contains <number>Programs” in Justified the language specified by the user at Guidesetup, displayed in white, where <number> is the number of programs inthe playlist. 2.0 2 Left Runtime of the playlist (total runtime of allJustified programs in the playlist) 3.0 3 Left If a row in the Ordercolumn is highlighted, Justified the text “Press <up/down arrows> onyour remote to change your Playlist's order.” is displayed in thelanguage specified by the user in Guide setup and displayed in whitetext. 3.1 3 Left If the program title is highlighted, the text Justified“Press <left arrow> to reorder programs, or press <right arrow> todelete programs.” is displayed in the language specified by the user inGuide setup and displayed in white text. 3.2 3 Left If a row in thecheckmark column is Justified highlighted, the text “<checkmark> a <boxsymbol> and then select <X symbol> below to delete programs.” isdisplayed in the language specified by the user at Guide setup anddisplayed in white text.

TABLE 21 Illustrative Playlist with Programs Screen Action Icon TableNo. Name Condition Description 1.0 Last Always present Displays thescreen from which it was displayed 2.0 Resume Always present Sends thevideo play request to VOD server 26 instructing the server to beginplaying at the last playback position in the playlist. 2.1 Resume Alwayspresent If the last playback position in the playlist is a VOD programfor which trick mode is not available, VOD server 26 may resume playbackat the beginning of that VOD program. 3.0 Restart Always present Sendsthe video play request to VOD server 26 instructing the server to beginplaying at the beginning of the playlist. 4.0 Down Always presentDisplays the next page of VOD programs in Arrow the playlist if there isa next page 4.1 Down Always present Inactive if there is no next pageArrow 5.0 Keyboard Always present Displays the Playlist Keyboard Overlay6.0 Search Always present Displays the Playlist Search Screen 7.0 LockAlways present Displays the Lock Playlist Overlay 8.0 Delete Alwayspresent Displays the Playlist Deletion Options Overlay

TABLE 22 Illustrative Playlist with Programs Screen Input Key ProcessingNo. Key Screen Focus Behavior 1.0 Power Any Normal 2.0 Volume Any NormalUp 3.0 Volume Any Normal Down 4.0 Mute Any Normal 5.0 Channel Any NormalUp 6.0 Channel Any Normal Down 7.0 Bypass Any Normal 8.0 Menu Any Normal9.0 Guide Any Normal 10.0 Music Any Normal 11.0 Themes Any Normal 12.0Search Any Normal 13.0 Settings Any Normal 14.0 Exit Any Normal 15.0Last Any Normal 16.0 Right Sequence The Guide may move the highlight tothe Arrow number column program title column within the same row. 16.1Right Program title The Guide may move the highlight to the Arrow columndeletion checkbox column within the same row. 16.2 Right DeletionInactive Arrow checkbox column 16.3 Right Any action icon Normal Arrowbut farthest right 16.4 Right Farthest right The Guide may move thehighlight to the Arrow action icon farthest left action icon. 17.0 LeftArrow Sequence Inactive number column 17.1 Left Arrow Program title TheGuide may move the highlight to the column sequence number column withinthe same row. 17.2 Left Arrow Deletion The Guide may move the highlightto the checkbox program title column within the same row. column 17.3Left Arrow Any action icon Normal but the farthest left 17.4 Left ArrowFarthest left The Guide may move the highlight to the action iconfarthest right action icon. 18.0 Up Arrow Top row within Inactiveplaylist sequence area, first page 18.1 Up Arrow Any row except TheGuide may move the highlight to the next top row within higher row,within the same column. playlist sequence area, any column exceptsequence number column 18.2 Up Arrow Any row except The Guide may send arequest to VOD top row within server 26 to move the currentlyhighlighted playlist program up one position within the playlistsequence area, sequence, and refresh the playlist sequence sequence areadisplay. number column 18.3 Up Arrow Top row within The Guide maydisplay the previous page and playlist highlight the bottom row, withinthe same sequence area, column. any column except sequence numbercolumn, any but first page 18.4 Up Arrow Top row within The Guide may:playlist send a request to VOD server 26 to move the sequence area,currently highlighted program up one position sequence within theplaylist sequence number display the previous page column, any highlightthe bottom row, within the same but first page column. 18.5 Up Arrow Anyaction icon The Guide may highlight the bottom row of the playlistsequence area, program title column. 19.0 Down Bottom row Inactive Arrowwithin playlist sequence area, last page 19.1 Down Any row except TheGuide may move the highlight to the next Arrow bottom row lower row,within the same column. within playlist sequence area, any column exceptsequence number column 19.2 Down Any row except The Guide may send arequest to VOD server Arrow bottom row 26 to move the currentlyhighlighted program within playlist down one position within theplaylist sequence area, sequence, and may refresh the playlist sequencesequence area display. number column 19.3 Down Bottom row The Guide maydisplay the next page and Arrow within playlist highlight the top row,within the same column. sequence area, any column except sequence numbercolumn, any but last page 19.4 Down Bottom row The Guide may: Arrowwithin playlist send a request to VOD server 26 to move the sequencearea, currently highlighted program down one sequence position withinthe playlist sequence number display the next page column, any highlightthe top row, within the same column. but last page 19.5 Down Any actionicon Inactive Arrow except Down Arrow action icon 19.6 Down Down ArrowThe Guide may display the next page and Arrow action icon, any highlightthe top row, within the same column. but last page 19.7 Down Down ArrowInactive Arrow action icon, last page 20.0 OK Any action icon See Table21. 20.1 OK Program title The Guide may display the VOD Program columnInformation Screen for the highlighted program. 20.2 OK SequenceInactive number column 20.3 OK Deletion The Guide may toggle the checksymbol on or checkbox off inside the checkbox on the current row. column21.0 Digits 0-9 Any Normal 22.0 Scroll Up Any page but The Guide maydisplay the previous page and first highlight the top row, within thesame column. 22.0 Scroll Up First page Inactive 23.0 Scroll Any page butThe Guide may display the next page and Down last highlight the top row,within the same column. 23.0 Scroll Last page Inactive Down 24.0 Day AnyInactive Forward 25.0 Day Back Any Inactive 26.0 Help Any Inactive 27.0Info Program title The Guide may display the VOD Program columnInformation Screen for the highlighted program. 27.1 Info PlaylistInactive sequence area, any column but program title column 27.2 InfoAny action Inactive Icon 28.0 Favorite Any Inactive 29.0 Lock AnyDisplays the Lock Playlist Overlay 30.0 Record Any Inactive 31.0 StopAny Inactive 32.0 Pause Any Inactive 33.0 Play Any Inactive 34.0 RewindAny Inactive 35.0 Fast Any Inactive Forward 36.0 PPV Any Normal 37.0Letters A-Z Any Inactive 38.0 VOD Any Inactive 39.0 Return to AnyInactive Live TV 40.0 Skip Any Inactive Forward 41.0 Replay Any Inactive42.0 A Any Inactive 43.0 B Any Inactive 44.0 C Any Inactive 45.0 DigitalAny Normal Recordings 46.0 Swap Any Inactive

TABLE 23 Illustrative Playlist with Programs Screen Other Event HandlingNo. Event Conditions/Comments 1.0 Screen Timeout Normal 2.0 ReminderNormal 3.0 Scheduled Recording Fires Normal 4.0 Ordered PPV Start Normal5.0 PPV Purchase Window Inactive Expires 6.0 Current Program Ends Normal7.0 Data added, deleted or Normal modified in database

TABLE 24 Illustrative Playlist with Programs Screen/Mode Entry No.Functionality Description 1.0 Guide Initialization The Playlist Screen -Not Empty may be available as soon as the VOD feature is available. 2.0Highlight The default highlight may be on the first listing in theplaylist. 3.0 Display Inclusion Display all VOD programs in theplaylist. Criteria 4.0 Sorting/Grouping Programs within the playlist maybe ordered Criteria as specified in the VOD data. 4.1 Sorting/GroupingPrograms may be placed at the end of the Criteria playlist when they areadded, by default. 4.2 Sorting/Grouping See arrow key description inTable 22 for Criteria reordering of programs in the playlist. 5.0Customization The OnDemand icon may be MSO- configurable. 6.0 OtherEntry Actions Not applicable

TABLE 25 Illustrative Playlist with Programs Screen Formatting No.Functionality Description 1.0 Program Title Normal 2.0 Time Normal 3.0Channel Not applicable 4.0 Other Text Not Applicable 5.0 Colors Normal6.0 Indicators Not applicable 7.0 Branding Not Applicable 8.0 AudioNormal 9.0 LEDs Normal

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative keyboard overlay. Tables 26-27 describeillustrative behaviors of the IPG and/or VOD server 26 in connectionwith providing such an overlay.

TABLE 26 Illustrative Playlist Keyboard Overlay General Description No.Description 1.0 The guide may provide an on screen Playlist Keyboardoverlay for naming distinct VOD playlists. 1.1 The Playlist Keyboardoverlay may include a keyboard component and a string entry field. 2.0The keyboard component may facilitate entry of all capital letters ofthe English alphabet, digits 0-9 and the space character within thestring entry field. 2.1 The string entry field may allow the user to seecharacters in the character string as they are entered. 2.1.1 Entry ofcharacters may be sequential from left to right. 2.1.2 The characterentry position may be maintained after the rightmost character in thestring entry field. 2.1.3 The character entry position may berepresented by a character entry cursor. 2.2 The keyboard component mayfacilitate deletion of the rightmost character in the string entry fieldvia the Delete/Backspace selectable item. 2.3 The keyboard component mayallow entry of up to, e.g., 25 characters within the string entry field.2.3.1 If the number of characters, together with the character entrycursor, exceeds the display capacity of the string entry field, one ormore leftmost characters may be shifted beyond the left edge of thestring entry field, as required to maintain the character entry cursorwithin the right edge of the string entry field. 2.3.2 If any charactersremain shifted beyond the left edge of the string entry field, and theuser deletes the rightmost character using the Delete/Backspace key, oneor more first characters may be shifted back into the string entry fielddisplay, provided the character entry cursor may maintain its positionwithin the right edge of the string entry field. 2.3.3 If no charactersremain shifted beyond the left edge of the string entry field, and theuser deletes the rightmost character using the Delete/Backspace key, thecharacters may remain fixed within the string entry field, and thecharacter entry cursor may move to the left. 3.0 The space characteroption in the keyboard component may include the text “Sp” in whitetext. 4.0 The delete/backspace option in the keyboard component mayinclude the text “Del” in white text. 5.0 The save option in thekeyboard component may include the text “Save” in white text. 5.1 The“Save” selectable item may be grayed out if no non-space characters havebeen entered in the string entry field. 6.0 The default highlight onentry may be the “A” character in the keyboard component. 7.0 The stringentry field may be empty on entry.

TABLE 27 Illustrative Playlist Keyboard Overlay Input Key Processing No.Key Screen Focus Behavior 1.0 Power Any Normal 2.0 Volume Up Any Normal3.0 Volume Down Any Normal 4.0 Mute Any Normal 5.0 Channel Up Any Normal6.0 Channel Down Any Normal 7.0 Bypass Any Normal 8.0 Menu Any Normal9.0 Guide Any Normal 10.0 Music Any Normal 11.0 Themes Any Normal 12.0Search Any Normal 13.0 Settings Any Inactive 14.0 Exit Any Normal 15.0Last Any The Guide may dismiss the Playlist Keyboard overlay andredisplay the screen it was accessed from. 16.0 Right Arrow Anywhere inMove the highlight to the next key to the keyboard right in the keyboardcomponent. component except rightmost keys. 16.1 Right Arrow Rightmostkeys Inactive in keyboard component, or string entry field 17.0 LeftArrow Anywhere in Move the highlight to the next key to the leftkeyboard in the keyboard component. component except leftmost keys. 17.1Left Arrow Leftmost keys in Inactive keyboard component, or string entryfield. 18.0 Up Arrow Alphanumeric Move the highlight to the next higherkey in keys in keyboard the keyboard component. component, not includingtop row. 18.1 Up Arrow “A” or “B” key Move highlight to the “Delete”option. in keyboard component. 18.2 Up Arrow “C” or “D” key Movehighlight to the “Spacebar” option. in keyboard component. 18.3 Up Arrow“E” or “F” key Move highlight to the “Save” option. in keyboardcomponent. 18.4 Up Arrow Delete, Space or Move the highlight to thestring entry field. Save option in the keyboard component. 18.5 Up ArrowString entry Inactive field. 19.0 Down Arrow String entry Move highlightto the “Delete” option. field. 19.1 Down Arrow Delete option in Move thehighlight to the “A” key in the the keyboard keyboard component.component. 19.2 Down Arrow Space option in Move the highlight to the “C”key in the the keyboard keyboard component. component. 19.3 Down ArrowSave option in Move the highlight to the “E” key in the the keyboardkeyboard component. component. 19.4 Down Arrow Alphanumeric Move thehighlight to the next lower key in keys in keyboard the keyboardcomponent. component, not including bottom row. 19.5 Down Arrow Bottomrow of Inactive alphanumeric keys in keyboard component. 20.0 OK Stringentry The Guide may rename the current favorite field, string list usingthe character string in the string contains at least entry field,dismiss the Playlist Keyboard one non-space overlay and redisplay thescreen it was character. accessed from. 20.1 OK String entry Inactivefield, string contains no non- space characters. 20.2 OK Any If fewerthan, e.g., 25 characters have been alphanumeric entered, append thecorresponding character key, or space to the character string, and shiftthe string key, in the entry field display as required. keyboardcomponent. 20.2.1 OK Any Inactive if, e.g., 25 characters have beenalphanumeric entered. key, or space key, in the keyboard component. 20.4OK Delete/backspace Delete the rightmost search character in the key inkeyboard search string entry field, and shift the search component.string entry field display as required. 20.4.1 OK Delete/backspaceInactive if there are no characters in the key in keyboard string entryfield. component. 20.5 OK “Save” option in The Guide may rename thecurrent favorite keyboard list using the character string in the stringcomponent, entry field, dismiss the Playlist Keyboard string contains atoverlay and redisplay the screen it was least one non- accessed from.space character. 20.6 OK “Save” option in Inactive keyboard component,string contains no non-space characters. 21.0 Digits 0-9 Any If fewerthan, e.g., 25 characters have been entered, append the correspondingnumber to the character string, and shift the string entry field displayas required. 21.1 Digits 0-9 Any Inactive if, e.g., 25 characters havebeen entered. 22.0 Scroll Up Any Inactive 23.0 Scroll Down Any Inactive24.0 Day Forward Any Inactive 25.0 Day Back Any Inactive 26.0 Help AnyInactive 27.0 Info Any Inactive 28.0 Favorite Any Inactive 29.0 Lock AnyInactive 30.0 Record Any Inactive 31.0 Stop Any Inactive 32.0 Pause AnyInactive 33.0 Play Any Inactive 34.0 Rewind Any Inactive 35.0 FastForward Any Inactive 36.0 PPV Any Normal 37.0 Letters A- Any If fewerthan, e.g., 25 characters have been Z entered, append the correspondingcharacter to the character string, and shift the string entry fielddisplay as required. 37.1 Letters A- Any Inactive if, e.g., 25characters have been Z entered. 38.0 VOD Any Normal 39.0 Return to AnyNormal Live TV 40.0 Skip Forward Any Inactive 41.0 Replay Any Inactive42.0 A Any Inactive 43.0 B Any Inactive 44.0 C Any Inactive 45.0 DigitalAny Normal Recordings 46.0 Swap Any Inactive

FIG. 11 show an illustrative Select a Playlist Overlay that may bedisplayed when the user selects the Add to a Playlist Icon on the VODProgram Information screen. The user selects a playlist to which theprogram will be added. Tables 28-34 describe illustrative behaviors ofthe IPG and/or VOD server 26 in connection with providing such anoverlay.

TABLE 28 Illustrative Select a Playlist Overlay System Description No.Description 1.0 VOD server 26 may maintain a list of playlists for eachdistinct STB. 1.1 The list of playlists may be ordered according to thedate and time of playlist creation, beginning with the most recentlycreated playlist. 2.0 When the Guide requests the list of playlists, andif more than one playlist has been created, VOD server 26 may providethe list of playlists to the Guide. 2.1 VOD server 26 pages up or downwithin the Select a Playlist overlay to allow viewing of additionalplaylist list pages. 3.0 VOD server 26 responds to requests from theGuide to add a new playlist. 3.1 VOD server 26 may create up to, forexample, 24 playlists per STB. 3.2 VOD server 26 may communicate anerror to the Guide if a request is made to add a new playlist, and themaximum number of playlists has been reached for the STB. 4.0 VOD server26 responds to requests from the Guide to add a VOD program to anexisting playlist. 4.1 VOD server 26 may include up to, for example, 24programs per VOD playlist. 4.2 VOD server 26 may communicate an error tothe Guide if a request is made to add a program to a playlist, and themaximum number of programs has been reached for the selected playlist.

TABLE 29 Illustrative Select a Playlist Overlay General Description No.Description 1.0 The Guide may display the Select a Playlist Overlay whenthe user selects the Add Video to Playlist Icon on the VOD ProgramInformation screen. 2.0 The Select a Playlist Overlay may include: anoverlay title area a playlist list area an action icon area 3.0 Thetitle of the Select a Playlist Overlay may be “Select a Playlist to addthis program to.” in the language specified by the user in the Guidesetup, displayed in yellow text, centered in the overlay title area. 4.0The playlist list area may include a header row and a vertical list ofplaylists. 4.1 The header row may include, left justified, the Playlisticon, followed by the text “Playlists” in white text, in the languagespecified by the user in Guide setup. 4.2 Each list cell in the verticallist of playlists may include the playlist name, left justified in whitetext. 5.0 If no playlists have been created, the vertical list ofplaylists may include the text “No playlists have been created” in thelanguage specified by the user at Guide setup, displayed in yellow,

TABLE 30 Illustrative Select a Playlist Overlay Action Icon Table No.Name Condition Description 1.0 Last Always Displays the screen fromwhich it was present displayed 2.0 Down Arrow Always Displays the nextpage of VOD playlists present 2.1 Down Arrow Always Inactive if thecurrent page is the last or only present page. 3.0 New Playlist AlwaysIf the maximum number of playlists has not present been reached, theGuide may: Send a request to VOD server 26 to create a new playlist,assigning a default playlist name in the form “Playlist <lowest positiveinteger not already used to name a playlist>“, and with the VOD programfrom the underlying VOD Program Information screen as its sole asset.Display the Playlist with Programs screen for the new playlist. 3.1 NewPlaylist Always If the maximum number of playlists has been presentreached, the Guide may display the Maximum Playlists Notice

TABLE 31 Illustrative Select a Playlist Overlay Input Key Processing No.Key Screen Focus Behavior 1.0 Power Any Normal 2.0 Volume Up Any Normal3.0 Volume Down Any Normal 4.0 Mute Any Normal 5.0 Channel Up Any Normal6.0 Channel Down Any Normal 7.0 Bypass Any Normal 8.0 Menu Any Normal9.0 Guide Any Normal 10.0 Music Any Normal 11.0 Themes Any Normal 12.0Search Any Normal 13.0 Settings Any Normal 14.0 Exit Any Normal 15.0Last Any Normal 16.0 Right Arrow Any list cell Inactive 16.1 Right ArrowAny action icon Normal but farthest right 16.2 Right Arrow Farthestright The Guide may move the highlight to the action icon farthest leftaction icon. 17.0 Left Arrow Any list cell Inactive 17.1 Left Arrow Anyaction icon Normal but the farthest left 17.2 Left Arrow Farthest leftThe Guide may move the highlight to the action icon farthest rightaction icon. 18.0 Up Arrow Top list cell on Inactive first page 18.1 UpArrow Any list cell The Guide may move the highlight to the next excepttop on higher list cell. page 18.2 Up Arrow Top list cell on The Guidemay display the previous page and any page but highlight the bottom listcell. first 18.3 Up Arrow Any action icon The Guide may highlight thebottom list cell on the page. 19.0 Down Arrow Any list cell The Guidemay move the highlight to the next except bottom lower list cell. onpage 19.1 Down Arrow Bottom list cell The Guide may move the highlightto the Down Arrow Action Icon. 19.2 Down Arrow Down Arrow The Guide maydisplay the next page of action icon listings and highlight the top listcell. 19.3 Down Arrow Any action icon Inactive except Down Arrow 20.0 OKAny action icon See Table 30. 20.1 OK Any list cell Send a request toVOD server 26 to add the program from the underlying VOD ProgramInformation screen to the selected playlist. If successful, dismiss theSelect a Playlist Overlay and display the Program Added Overlay. 20.2 OKAny list cell Send a request to VOD server 26 to add the program fromthe underlying VOD Program Information screen to the selected playlist.If the playlist has reached the maximum number of programs, display theMaximum Programs notice over the Select a Playlist Overlay. 21.0 Digits0-9 Any Normal 22.0 Scroll Up Any Normal 23.0 Scroll Down Any Normal24.0 Day Forward Any Inactive 25.0 Day Back Any Inactive 26.0 Help AnyInactive 27.0 Info Any list cell The Guide may display the PlaylistInformation Screen for the highlighted Playlist. 27.1 Info Any actionIcon Inactive 28.0 Favorite Any Inactive 29.0 Lock Any Inactive 30.0Record Any Inactive 31.0 Stop Any Inactive 32.0 Pause Any Inactive 33.0Play Any Inactive 34.0 Rewind Any Inactive 35.0 Fast Forward AnyInactive 36.0 PPV Any Normal 37.0 Letters A- Any Inactive Z 38.0 VOD AnyInactive 39.0 Return to Any Inactive Live TV 40.0 Skip Any InactiveForward 41.0 Replay Any Inactive 42.0 A Any Inactive 43.0 B Any Inactive44.0 C Any Inactive 45.0 Digital Any Normal Recordings 46.0 Swap AnyInactive

TABLE 32 Illustrative Select a Playlist Overlay Other Event Handling No.Event Conditions/Comments 1.0 Screen Timeout Normal 2.0 Reminder Normal3.0 Scheduled Recording Fires Normal 4.0 Ordered PPV Start Normal 5.0PPV Purchase Window Inactive Expires 6.0 Current Program Ends Normal 7.0Data added, deleted or Normal modified in database

TABLE 33 Illustrative Select a Playlist Overlay Screen/Mode Entry No.Functionality Description 1.0 Guide The Select a Playlist Overlay may beavailable Initialization as soon as the VOD feature is available. 2.0Highlight The default highlight may be on the first playlist in thelist. 2.1 Highlight If no playlists have been created, the defaulthighlight may be on the “Add Playlist” action icon. 3.0 DisplayInclusion Display all existing playlists. Criteria 4.0 Sorting/GroupingThe playlists may be displayed in order of Criteria creation time, fromnewest to oldest. 5.0 Customization The OnDemand icon may be MSO-configurable. 6.0 Other Entry Not applicable Actions 7.0 VOD Program TheGuide may retain the context of the VOD context program from theunderlying VOD Program Information screen.

TABLE 34 Illustrative Select a Playlist Overlay Screen Formatting No.Functionality Description 1.0 Program Title Not applicable 2.0 TimeNormal 3.0 Channel Not applicable 4.0 Other Text Not Applicable 5.0Colors Normal 6.0 Indicators Not applicable 7.0 Branding Not Applicable8.0 Audio Normal 9.0 LEDs Normal

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative Maximum Playlists Overlay. The MaximumPlaylists overlay may be displayed when the maximum number of playlists(e.g., 24) has been created, and the user makes a request to add a newplaylist. Table 35 describes illustrative behaviors of the IPG and/orVOD server 26 in connection with providing such an overlay.

TABLE 35 Illustrative Maximum Playlists Overlay General Descriptions No.Description 1.0 This overlay may be displayed when the user selects theNew Playlist icon on the Playlists List Screen or the Select a PlaylistOverlay and the maximum number of 24 playlists has already been created.1.0 The Maximum Playlists Overlay may include the Playlist icon followedby the title “MAXIMUM PLAYLISTS CREATED” in yellow text, centered at thetop of the overlay. 2.0 The Maximum Playlists Overlay may include thetext “The maximum number of Playlists has been reached. You must deletean existing Playlist to continue.” in white text, centered below thetitle and in the language specified by the user in Language Setup. 3.0All key presses may follow the Common Input Key Processing definitionfor Notice Overlays in the Appendix. 4.0 The Maximum Playlists Overlaymay follow the Common Other Event Handling definition for NoticeOverlays in the Appendix.

FIG. 13 shows an illustrative Maximum Programs Notice. This notice maybe displayed when the user attempts to add a program to a playlist thatalready contains the maximum number of programs. Table 36 describesillustrative behaviors of the IPG and/or VOD server 26 in connectionwith providing such an overlay.

TABLE 36 Illustrative Maximum Programs Notice General Description No.Description 1.0 This notice may be displayed when the user selects aplaylist from the Select a Playlist Overlay, or attempts to “toggle aprogram on” within the Playlist search screen, but the playlist alreadycontains the maximum number of, e.g., 24 programs. 2.0 Notice text maybe “You cannot add any more programs to this Playlist.” displayed inyellow in the language selected by the user in Guide Setup. 3.0 Thisnotice may follow the description as defined for Overlay Notice screens,except as specified in this section.

FIG. 14 shows an illustrative Program Added Overlay. The Program AddedOverlay may be displayed when the Guide has successfully added a programto a playlist. Tables 37-38 describe illustrative behaviors of the IPGand/or VOD server 26 in connection with providing such an overlay.

TABLE 37 Illustrative Program Added Overlay General Description No.Description 1.0 The title of the Program Added Overlay may be “PROGRAMADDED” in the language specified by the viewer in the Guide setup,displayed in yellow. 1.1 The Guide may display the text, “This programhas been added to the following play list.”, on the Program AddedOverlay in the language specified by the viewer in the Guide setup,displayed in white. 2.0 The Guide may display the OK/Yes Icon with thelabel “Confirm” on the overlay, in the language specified by the user inGuide setup. 2.1 When the OK key is pressed with the “Confirm” optionhighlighted, the Guide dismisses the overlay. 3.0 The default highlighton the Program Added Overlay may be the Confirm Icon. 4.0 Except asotherwise specified here, this overlay may follow the description forSingle Action Overlays in the Appendix).

TABLE 38 Illustrative Playlist with Programs Screen Instant InformationNo. Line Format Description 1.0 1 Left The name of the playlist,displayed in yellow Justified 1.1 1 Right The text “Contains <number>programs” in Justified the language specified by the user at Guidesetup, displayed in white, where <number> is the number of programs inthe playlist. 2.0 2 Left Runtime of the playlist (total runtime of allJustified programs in the playlist)

FIG. 15 shows an illustrative Playlist Deletion Options Overlay. ThePlaylist Deletion Options Overlay may be displayed when the user selectsthe Delete Action Icon on the Playlist with Programs Screen. Tables39-40 describe illustrative behaviors of the IPG and/or VOD server 26 inconnection with providing such an overlay.

TABLE 39 Illustrative Playlist Deletion Options Overlay GeneralDescription No. Description 1.0 The Guide may display the PlaylistDeletion Options Overlay when the user selects the Delete Action Icon onthe Playlist with Programs Screen. 1.1 The title of the PlaylistDeletion Options Overlay may be “DELETION OPTIONS” in the languagespecified by the viewer in the Guide setup, displayed in yellow text.2.0 If the user has checked the deletion checkbox for at least oneprogram in the Playlist with Programs screen, the Guide may display theDelete Icon on the Playlist Deletion Options Overlay with the label“Delete programs with a <checkmark/box> only” in the language specifiedby the user in the Guide setup. 2.1 The Guide may display the DeleteIcon on the Playlist Deletion Options Overlay with the label “Delete allprograms” in the language specified by the user in the Guide setup. 2.2The Guide may display the Delete Icon on the Playlist Deletion OptionsOverlay with the label “Delete the entire playlist” in the languagespecified by the user in the Guide setup. 2.3 The Guide may display theLast/Back Icon on the Playlist Deletion Options Overlay with the label“Cancel” in the language specified by the user in the Guide setup. 3.0The Deletion Options may be displayed in the following order: Deleteprograms with a <checkmark/box> only (if present) Delete all programsDelete the entire Playlist Don't do anything 4.0 The default highlightmay be the “Delete programs with a <checkmark/box> only” option, ifpresent. 4.1 If the “Delete programs with a <checkmark/box> only” optionis not present, the default highlight may be the “Delete all programs”option. 5.0 Except as specified in this section, this overlay may followthe description in the Common Action Overlay section of the Appendix.

TABLE 40 Illustrative Playlist Deletion Options Overlay Action IconDescription No. Action Icon Function When Selected 1.0 Delete programswith a If all of the programs are checked on the checkmark only (ifpresent) underlying Playlist with Programs Screen, the Guide may: send arequest to VOD server 26 to delete all programs from the playlistdismiss the overlay, and display the Default Playlist Screen with theplaylist name in place of the default playlist name. 1.1 Delete programswith a If not all of the programs are checked on the checkmark only (ifpresent) underlying Playlist with Programs Screen, the Guide may: send arequest to VOD server 26 to delete all checked programs from theplaylist dismiss the overlay, and display the underlying Playlist withPrograms Screen updated to reflect the deletions. 2.0 Delete allprograms The Guide may: send a request to VOD server 26 to delete allprograms from the playlist dismiss the overlay, and display the DefaultPlaylist Screen with the playlist name in place of the default playlistname. 3.0 Delete the entire Playlist The Guide may dismiss the overlayand display the Delete Playlist Confirmation Overlay. 4.0 Don't doanything The Guide may dismiss the overlay.

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative Delete Playlist Confirmation Overlay thatmay be displayed when the user selects the Delete Action Icon on theDefault Playlist Screen or selects the Delete Entire Playlist option onthe Playlist Deletion Options Overlay. Tables 41-42 describeillustrative behaviors of the IPG and/or VOD server 26 in connectionwith providing such an overlay.

TABLE 41 Illustrative Delete Playlist Confirmation Overlay GeneralDescription No. Description Rationale 1.0 The Guide may display theDelete Playlist Confirmation Overlay when the user selects the DeleteAction Icon on the Default Playlist Screen or selects the Delete EntirePlaylist option on the Playlist Deletion Options Overlay. 1.1 The Guidemay display the Delete Icon on the Delete Playlist Confirmation Overlaywith the label “Delete Playlist” in the language specified by the userin the Guide setup. 1.2 The Guide may display the Cancel Icon on theDelete Playlist Confirmation Overlay with the label “Don't deletePlaylist” in the language specified by the user in the Guide setup. 2.0The default highlight may be the Delete Icon. 3.0 Except as specified inthis section, this confirmation screen may follow the descriptionprovided in the Common Confirmation Overlay section of the Appendix.

TABLE 42 Illustrative Delete Playlist Confirmation Overlay Action IconTable No. Name Condition Description 1.0 Delete Always The Guide may:Playlist present send a request to VOD server 26 to delete the playlistwith all of its contents dismiss the overlay and display the screen fromwhich the playlist was accessed. 2.0 Don't Always The Guide may dismissthe overlay. delete present Playlist

FIG. 17 shows an illustrative overlay that may be displayed when theuser selects the Lock Action Icon on the Default Playlist Screen orPlaylist with Programs Screen and enters the proper PIN on the EnterLocks PIN Overlay. If a playlist is locked, anyone without the correctPIN will not be able to access the Playlist for playback, editing, ordeleting. Tables 43-44 describe illustrative behaviors of the IPG and/orVOD server 26 in connection with providing such an overlay.

TABLE 43 Illustrative Lock Playlist Overlay General Description No.Description 1.0 This overlay may be displayed when the user selects theLock Action Icon on the Default Playlist Screen or Playlist withPrograms Screen and enters the proper PIN on the Enter Locks PINOverlay. 2.0 Title text for the Lock Playlist Overlay may be “LOCKCONFIRMATION” displayed in yellow. 2.1 Descriptive text under the titletext may be “Locking will restrict access to this playlist.”, displayedin white. 3.0 If the playlist is currently unlocked, the Guide maydisplay the Unlocked Icon on the Lock Playlist Overlay with the label“Lock this playlist” in the language specified by the user in the Guidesetup. 3.1 If the playlist is currently locked, the Guide may displaythe Locked Icon on the Lock Playlist Overlay with the label “Unlock thisplaylist” in the language specified by the user in the Guide setup. 4.0The Guide may display the OK/Yes Icon on the Lock Playlist Overlay withthe label “Confirm this Lock” in the language specified by the user inthe Guide setup. 5.0 The default highlight for this overlay may be the“Confirm this lock” option. 6.0 Except as specified in this section,this overlay may follow the description provided in the Common ActionOverlay section of the Appendix.

TABLE 44 Illustrative Lock Playlist Overlay Action Icon Description No.Action Icon Function When Selected 1.0 Lock this playlist The Guide mayupdate the playlist lock state to locked, updates the action icon to theLocked Icon, and updates the label to “Unlock this playlist”. 1.1 Unlockthis playlist The Guide may update the playlist lock state to unlocked,updates the action icon to the Unlocked Icon, and updates the label to“Lock this playlist”. 2.0 Confirm this lock The Guide may dismiss theoverlay.

FIGS. 18 and 19 show illustrative Playlist Search Screens that may bedisplayed when the user selects the Search action icon on the DefaultPlaylist Screen or the Playlist with Programs Screen. These screens maycontain free VOD listing search results available to add to a playlist.Tables 45-50 describe illustrative behaviors of the IPG and/or VODserver 26 in connection with providing such screens.

TABLE 45 Illustrative Playlist Search Screen General Description TableNo. Description 1.0 The Guide may display the Playlist Search Screenwhen the user selects the Search Icon on the Default Playlist Screen orthe Playlist with Programs Screen. 2.0 The Playlist Search screen mayinclude: a screen header area an instant information area a playlistcandidate area an action icon area 3.0 The playlist candidate area mayinclude a header row and a vertical list of playlist candidates. 3.1 Theheader row in the playlist candidate area may include the Search icon,followed by the text “<Playlist name> Search”, left justified, where thetext “Search” is in the language specified by the user in the Guidesetup. 3.2 The header row in the playlist candidate area may include thetext “Select to add or delete”, right justified, and in the languagespecified by the user in the Guide setup. 4.0 The vertical list ofplaylist candidates may include all VOD programs that are available tothe user for free, without any subscription or purchase. 4.1 The listingcell for any VOD program that is currently included in the playlist maydisplay the Playlist icon, right justified in the listing cell. 5.0 TheGuide may not permit inclusion of more than, e.g., 24 distinct VODprograms for the playlist. 5.1 If the user has toggled the playlistindicator “on” for, e.g., 24 programs, and attempts to toggle theplaylist indicator “on” for an additional program, the Guide may displaythe Maximum Programs Notice. 6.0 Programs may be added to/deleted from aplaylist immediately when toggled on/off within the Playlist Searchscreen.

TABLE 46 Illustrative Playlist Search Screen Action Icon Table No. NameCondition Description 1.0 Last Always Displays the screen from which itwas present displayed 2.0 Down Always Displays the next page of searchresults Arrow present if there is a next page 2.1 Down Always Inactiveif there is no next page Arrow present 4.0 Confirm Always Displays theDefault Playlist Screen if present there are no programs marked asincluded in the playlist 4.1 Confirm Always Displays the Playlist withPrograms present Screen if there are one or more programs marked asincluded in the playlist 8.0 Delete Always Displays the Clear AllPrograms present Confirmation Overlay

TABLE 47 Illustrative Playlist Search Screen Input Key Processing No.Key Screen Focus Behavior 1.0 Power Any Normal 2.0 Volume Up Any Normal3.0 Volume Down Any Normal 4.0 Mute Any Normal 5.0 Channel Up Any Normal6.0 Channel Down Any Normal 7.0 Bypass Any Normal 8.0 Menu Any Normal9.0 Guide Any Normal 10.0 Music Any Normal 11.0 Themes Any Normal 12.0Search Any Normal 13.0 Settings Any Normal 14.0 Exit Any Normal 15.0Last Any Normal 16.0 Right Arrow Any list cell Inactive 16.1 Right ArrowAny action Normal icon but farthest right 16.2 Right Arrow Farthestright The Guide may move the action icon highlight to the farthest leftaction icon. 17.0 Left Arrow Any list cell Inactive 17.1 Left Arrow Anyaction Normal icon but the farthest left 17.2 Left Arrow Farthest leftThe Guide may move the action icon highlight to the farthest rightaction icon. 18.0 Up Arrow Top list cell on Inactive first page 18.1 UpArrow Any list cell The Guide may move the except top on highlight tothe next higher page list cell. 18.2 Up Arrow Top list cell on The Guidemay display the any page but previous page and highlight first thebottom list cell. 18.3 Up Arrow Any action The Guide may highlight iconthe bottom list cell on the page. 19.0 Down Arrow Any list cell TheGuide may move the except bottom highlight to the next on page lowerlist cell. 19.1 Down Arrow Bottom list cell The Guide may move thehighlight to the Down Arrow Action Icon. 19.2 Down Arrow Down Arrow TheGuide may display the action icon next page of listings and highlightthe top list cell. 19.3 Down Arrow Any action Inactive icon except DownArrow 20.0 OK Any action See Table 46. icon 20.1 OK Any list cell TheGuide may add/remove the program from the playlist and toggle thePlaylist Indicator on or off, right justified in the list cell. 21.0Digits 0-9 Any Normal 22.0 Scroll Up Any Normal 23.0 Scroll Down AnyNormal 24.0 Day Forward Any Inactive 25.0 Day Back Any Inactive 26.0Help Any Inactive 27.0 Info Any list cell The Guide may display the VODProgram Information Screen for the highlighted program. 27.1 Info Anyaction Inactive Icon 28.0 Favorite Any Inactive 29.0 Lock Any Inactive30.0 Record Any Inactive 31.0 Stop Any Inactive 32.0 Pause Any Inactive33.0 Play Any Inactive 34.0 Rewind Any Inactive 35.0 Fast Forward AnyInactive 36.0 PPV Any Normal 37.0 Letters A-Z Any Inactive 38.0 VOD AnyInactive 39.0 Return to Live Any Inactive TV 40.0 Skip Forward AnyInactive 41.0 Replay Any Inactive 42.0 A Any Inactive 43.0 B AnyInactive 44.0 C Any Inactive 45.0 Digital Any Normal Recordings 46.0Swap Any Inactive

TABLE 48 Illustrative Playlist Search Screen Other Event Handling No.Event Conditions/Comments 1.0 Screen Timeout Normal 2.0 Reminder Normal3.0 Scheduled Recording Fires Normal 4.0 Ordered PPV Start Normal 5.0PPV Purchase Window Inactive Expires 6.0 Current Program Ends Normal 7.0Data added, deleted or Normal modified in database

TABLE 49 Illustrative Playlist Search Screen/Mode Entry No.Functionality Description 1.0 Guide Initialization The Playlist SearchScreen may be available as soon as the VOD feature is available. 2.0Highlight The default highlight may be on the first listing in theplaylist candidate area. 3.0 Display Inclusion Display all VOD programsthat are free Criteria without any subscription or purchase. 4.0Sorting/Grouping Programs may be sorted in ascending Criteriaalphanumeric order. 5.0 Customization The OnDemand icon may be MSO-configurable. 6.0 Other Entry Actions Not applicable 7.0 Playlistcontext The Playlist Search screen may retain the context of the VODplaylist in the Playlist Information screen from which this screen wasinvoked.

TABLE 50 Illustrative Playlist Search Screen Formatting No.Functionality Description 1.0 Program Title Normal 2.0 Time Normal 3.0Channel Not applicable 4.0 Other Text Not Applicable 5.0 Colors Normal6.0 Indicators Not applicable 7.0 Branding Not Applicable 8.0 AudioNormal 9.0 LEDs Normal

FIG. 20 shows an illustrative Clear All Programs Confirmation Overlaythat may be displayed when the user selects the Delete action icon onthe Playlist Search Screen. Tables 51-52 describe illustrative behaviorsof the IPG and/or VOD server 26 in connection with providing such anoverlay.

TABLE 51 Illustrative Clear All Programs Confirmation Overlay GeneralDescription No. Description 1.0 The Guide may display the Clear AllPrograms Overlay when the user selects the Delete action icon on thePlaylist Search Screen. 1.1 The Guide may display the title “CLEAR ALLPROGRAM SELECTIONS” on the Clear All Programs Overlay in the languagespecified by the user in the Guide setup, in yellow text. 1.2 The Guidemay display the prompt “Are you sure you want to clear all programselections for this playlist?” on the Clear All Programs Overlay in thelanguage specified by the user in Guide setup. 1.3 The Guide may displaythe OK/Yes icon on the Clear All Programs Overlay with the label “Clearall program selections” in the language specified by the user in theGuide setup. 1.4 The Guide may display the Cancel icon on the Clear AllPrograms Overlay with the label “Don't clear” in the language specifiedby the user in the Guide setup. 2.0 The default highlight may be theOK/Yes icon. 3.0 Except as specified in this section, this confirmationscreen may follow the description provided in the Common ConfirmationOverlay section of the Appendix.

TABLE 52 Illustrative Clear All Programs Confirmation Overlay ActionIcon Table No. Name Condition Description 1.0 Clear all Always Dismissesthe Clear All Programs program present Overlay, clears all programs fromselections the playlist, and displays the underlying Playlist SearchScreen updated with all playlist indicators removed. 2.0 Don't clearAlways Dismisses the Clear All Programs present Overlay.Section III. Bookmarks

The Bookmark feature allows the user to save any programs in thecombined Bookmarked/Suspended Programs List (collectively referred toherein as the Saved Programs List). In the embodiment described below,only On Demand programs are included. In other embodiments, Non-OnDemand programs may be included.

In this embodiment, any On Demand program can be bookmarked regardlessof whether it is always free, free with a subscription, or requires apurchase. The user may select a Bookmark Icon from, for example, an On

Demand Program Information Screen.

FIG. 21 shows an illustrative Bookmark a VOD Program ConfirmationOverlay that may be displayed when the user selects the Bookmark Icon ina VOD program information screen, and the program has not already beenbookmarked. Tables 53-55 describe illustrative behaviors of the IPGand/or VOD server 26 in connection with providing such an overlay.

TABLE 53 Illustrative Bookmark a Program Confirmation Overlay SystemDescription No. Description 1.0 VOD server 26 may maintain a list ofbookmarked programs for each distinct STB. 2.0 VOD server 26 may add theprogram shown in the information screen to the list of bookmarkedprograms if the Guide makes a set bookmark request based on userselection of the “Bookmark this program” action icon. 2.1 VOD server 26may bookmark any VOD asset that is accessible to the subscriber. 2.2 IfVOD server 26 already has a maximum, e.g., 20 bookmarked programs for aSTB, and if the Guide requests an additional bookmarked program, VODserver 26 may delete the oldest bookmarked program from the bookmarkedprograms list for the STB.

TABLE 54 Illustrative Bookmark a Program Confirmation Overlay GeneralDescription No. Description 1.0 The Guide may display the Bookmark aProgram Confirmation Overlay when the user selects the Bookmark Icon inany VOD program information screen. 1.1 The Guide may display theBookmark button on the Bookmark a Program Confirmation Overlay with thelabel “Bookmark this program” in the language specified by the user inthe Guide setup. 1.2 The Guide may display the Cancel button on theBookmark a Program Confirmation Overlay with the label “Don't bookmarkthis program” in the language specified by the user in the Guide setup.2.0 The default highlight may be the Bookmark this program action icon.3.0 Except as specified in this section, this confirmation screen mayfollow the description provided in the Common Confirmation Overlaysection of the Appendix.

TABLE 55 Illustrative Bookmark a Program Confirmation Overlay ActionIcon Table No. Name Condition Description 1.0 Bookmark Always Requestthat VOD server 26 add the this present bookmark, dismiss the Bookmark aprogram Program Confirmation Overlay, and update the instant informationdisplay in the underlying VOD program information screen. 2.0 Don'tAlways Dismiss the Bookmark a Program bookmark present ConfirmationOverlay this program

FIG. 22 shows an illustrative Previously Bookmarked Confirmation Overlaythat may be displayed when the user selects the Bookmark Icon on a VODprogram information screen for a program that has already beenbookmarked. Tables 56-58 describe illustrative behaviors of the IPGand/or VOD server 26 in connection with providing such an overlay.

TABLE 56 Illustrative Previously Bookmarked Confirmation Overlay SystemDescription No. Description 1.0 VOD server 26 may maintain a list ofbookmarked programs for each distinct STB. 2.0 VOD server 26 may deletethe program shown in the information screen from the Saved Programs Listif the Guide makes a remove Bookmark request based on user selection ofthe “Don't keep this program bookmarked” action icon.

TABLE 57 Illustrative Previously Bookmarked Confirmation Overlay GeneralDescription No. Description 1.0 The Guide may display the PreviouslyBookmarked Confirmation Overlay when the user selects the Bookmark Iconin a VOD program information screen for a program that has already beenbookmarked. 1.1 The Guide may display the title “This program is alreadybookmarked.” on the Previously Bookmarked Confirmation Overlay in thelanguage specified by the user in the Guide setup, in yellow text. 1.2The Guide may display the Bookmark button on the Previously BookmarkedConfirmation Overlay with the label “Keep this program bookmarked” inthe language specified by the user in the Guide setup. 1.3 The Guide maydisplay the Cancel button on the Previously Bookmarked ConfirmationOverlay with the label “Don't keep this program bookmarked” in thelanguage specified by the user in the Guide setup. 2.0 The defaulthighlight may be the “Bookmark” Icon. 3.0 Except as specified in thissection, this confirmation screen may follow the description provided inthe Common Confirmation Overlay section of the Appendix.

TABLE 58 Illustrative Previously Bookmarked Confirmation Overlay ActionIcon Table No. Name Condition Description 1.0 Keep this Always Dismissthe Previously Bookmarked program present Confirmation Overlay.bookmarked 2.0 Don't keep Always Request that VOD server 26 remove thisprogram present the bookmark, dismiss the bookmarked PreviouslyBookmarked Confirmation Overlay, and update the instant informationdisplay in the underlying VOD program information screen.

FIGS. 23 and 24 shows illustrative Saved Programs Listing Screens thatcontain a list of programs the user has either bookmarked or suspendedafter selecting the Buy or Watch action icon on an On Demand programinformation screen. VOD server 26 (FIG. 1) may provides a link to theSaved Programs Listing Screen through the On Demand Main Menu or a VRNscreen by defining a category on the screen for the saved programs. Fromthis screen the user can access the On Demand information screen for asaved program and begin or resume watching that program. Tables 59-65describe illustrative behaviors of the IPG and/or VOD server 26 inconnection with providing such overlays.

TABLE 59 Illustrative Saved Programs Listing Screen System DescriptionNo. Description 1.0 VOD server 26 may maintain a list of suspendedprograms for each distinct subscriber household. 2.0 VOD server 26 maymaintain a list of bookmarked programs for each distinct STB. 3.0 Whenthe Guide requests the saved programs list, VOD server 26 may provide acombined list including: bookmarked programs for the STB suspendedprograms for the subscriber household. 3.1 The combined saved programslist may be sorted to include all suspended programs first, followed byall bookmarked programs. 3.2 Suspended programs and bookmarked programsmay not be intermingled within the saved programs list. 3.3 Suspendedprograms may be sorted alphanumerically within the suspended programssection of the saved programs list. 3.4 Bookmarked programs may besorted alphanumerically within the suspended programs section of thesaved programs list. 3.5 VOD server 26 may identify each individualprogram within the combined saved programs list as being eithersuspended or bookmarked. 3.6 VOD server 26 may provide, as required,page up or down within the Saved Programs Listing screen to viewadditional saved program listing pages. 4.0 VOD server 26 may provide upto, e.g., 20 suspended programs per subscriber household. 4.1 The VODserver 26 configuration may determine whether a program can be suspended(i.e. added to the suspended programs list). 4.2 If VOD server 26already has, e.g., 20 suspended programs for a subscriber household, andif the Guide requests an additional suspended program, the On Demandsystem may delete the oldest³ suspended program from the suspendedprograms list for the subscriber household. 4.3 VOD server 26 mayautomatically delete suspended programs from the saved programs listwhen the rental or viewing period has expired. 4.4 VOD server 26 mayautomatically delete suspended programs from the saved programs list ifthey reach the end of their licensing window. 5.0 VOD server 26 maysupport up to, e.g., 20 bookmarked programs per STB. 5.1 VOD server 26may bookmark any On Demand asset that is accessible to the subscriber.5.2 If VOD server 26 already has, e.g., 20 bookmarked programs for aSTB, and if the Guide requests an additional bookmarked program, VODserver 26 may delete the oldest bookmarked program from the bookmarkedprograms list for the STB. 5.3 VOD server 26 may automatically deletebookmarked programs from the saved programs list if they reach the endof their licensing window. 6.0 If the Guide requests suspension of aprogram that has already been bookmarked, VOD server 26 may change thestatus of the program from bookmarked to suspended. 6.1 If the Guiderequests purchase and/or playback of a bookmarked program that cannot besuspended, the program may be removed from the saved programs list. 7.0The system may provide an On Demand icon to the Guide. 7.1 The On Demandicon may be configurable to the individual headend level. 8.0 The VODServer 26 may provide a screen title for the Saved Programs Listingscreen to the Guide. 9.0 The VOD Server 26 may indicate whether a BarkerWindow should be displayed in the Saved Programs Listing screen. 10.0The VOD Server 26 may provide the following metadata as applicable, foreach program in the Saved Programs list: Short program title Suspendedor Bookmarked flag Expiration date (for suspended programs) Licensingwindow data (for bookmarked programs) Adult flag Price string Closedcaption flag HDTV flag Dolby digital audio flag Widescreen flag TVRating/MPAA Rating In a Playlist flag Program duration Year Actor1,Actor2 Free flag Last chance flag 11.0 The system may provide an OnDemand brand to the Guide. 11.0 The On Demand brand may be configurableto the headend level. ³The “oldest” suspended program is the suspendedprogram with the earliest expiration date/time.

TABLE 60 Illustrative Saved Programs Listing Screen Instant InformationDisplay Highlight No. Location Line Description 1.0 Any Program, 1 Shortprogram title, left justified in yellow if video barker text, asspecified in the On Demand data. is present 1.0 Any Program, 1 Fullprogram title, left justified in yellow text, if video barker asspecified in the On Demand data. is not present 2.0 Any Program 1 Pricestring, right justified in yellow text, as marked as specified in the OnDemand data. “Free”, if video barker is not present. 2.1 Any Program 1Price string, right justified in white text, as not marked as specifiedin the On Demand data. “Free”, if video barker is not present. 2.2 AnyProgram 2 Price string, left justified in yellow text, as marked asspecified in the On Demand data. “Free”, if video barker is present. 2.3Any Program 2 Price string, left justified in white text, as not markedas specified in the On Demand data. “Free”, if video barker is present.3.0 Any Program 2 Program indicators, right justified, as specified inTable 65. 4.0 Any Program, 2 Program duration, left justified in whitetext, if video barker in the format “<duration in minutes>min”. is notpresent 4.1 Any Program, 3 Program duration, left justified in whitetext, if video barker in the format “<duration in minutes>min”. ispresent 5.0 Any Program 3 Year, right justified in white text, in theformat “(<year>)”. 6.0 Any 3 The text “Ends <last date of licensingbookmarked window>”, left justified in white text, in the program, ifLast language specified by the user in guide setup. Chance flag is Dateformat is “<mm/dd/yyyy>”, or set and video “<yyyy/dd/mm>” for DLA.barker is not present. 6.1 Any 3 “<Actor 1>, <Actor 2>”, left justifiedin white bookmarked text. program, if Last Chance flag is not set andvideo barker is not present. 6.2 Any suspended 3 The text “Expires<expiration date/time for program, if suspended program>”, leftjustified in white video barker is text, in the language specified bythe user in not present. guide setup. Date/time format is “<mm/dd> at<hh:mm><a/p>”, or “<dd/mm> at <hh:mm><a/p>” for DLA. 6.3 Any 4 The text“Ends <last date of licensing bookmarked window>”, left justified inwhite text, in the program, if Last language specified by the user inguide setup. Chance flag is Date format is “<mm/dd/yyyy>”, or set andvideo “<yyyy/dd/mm>” for DLA. barker is present. 6.4 Any 4 “<Actor 1>,<Actor 2>”, left justified in white bookmarked text. program, if LastChance flag is not set and video barker is present. 6.5 Any suspended 4The text “Expires <expiration date/time for program, if suspendedprogram>”, left justified in white video barker is text, in the languagespecified by the user in present. guide setup. Date/time format is“<mm/dd> at <hh:mm><a/p>”, or “<dd/mm> at <hh:mm><a/p>” for DLA.

TABLE 61 Illustrative Saved Programs Listing Screen General DescriptionNo. Description 1.0 The Saved Programs Listing screen may include: ascreen header area an instant information area a saved programs listingarea 1.1 The saved programs listing area may include a header row and avertical saved programs list. 1.2 The saved programs listing area headerrow may include the On Demand icon, followed by the screen titlespecified in the On Demand data, left justified in white text. 2.0 TheGuide may obtain a list of suspended and/or bookmarked programs fordisplay on the Saved Programs Listing Screen. 2.1 The Guide may displaybetween, e.g., zero and seven listing cells on the Saved ProgramsListing screen. 2.1.1 When a Barker Window is present, the Guide maydisplay between, e.g., zero and six listing cells on the Saved ProgramListing Screen. 2.2 The listing cells may be displayed by the Guide onthe Saved Programs Listing screen in a vertical column, below the headerrow in the saved programs listing area. 2.3 The Guide may display onelisting cell for each distinct asset that is returned in the On Demanddata. 2.4 The label of each listing on the Saved Programs Listing screenmay be the short title of the program, as specified by the On Demanddata, unless the video is rated Adult and the Hide Adult Titles optionis enabled in the Parental Control Setup. 2.5 The label of a listingcell on the Saved Programs Listing Screen may be “Adult Programming” inthe user-selected language, if the rating of the video is Adult and theuser has enabled the Hide Adult Titles option in the Parental ControlSetup. 2.6 The Guide may display the Bookmarked icon on the listing cellif the On Demand data indicates that the program is bookmarked. 2.6.1The Guide may display the text “Ends” in the user-selected textlanguage, followed by the last date of the program's licensing window,right justified in the listing cell, directly to the left of thebookmarked icon, if the On Demand data indicates that the program isbookmarked, and that the program is a last chance video. Example: “Ends6/25” (i.e. June 25) 2.6.2 In a DLA environment, the Guide may display“Ends” in the user-selected text language, followed by the last date ofthe program's licensing window in international date format, rightjustified in the listing cell, directly to the left of the bookmarkedicon, if the On Demand data indicates that the program is bookmarked,and that the program is a last chance video. Example: “Ends 25/6” (i.e.June 25) 2.7 The Guide may display the Checkmark icon on the listingcell if the On Demand data indicates that the program is suspended.2.7.1 The Guide may display the text “Expires” in the user-selected textlanguage, followed by expiration date and time, right justified in thelisting cell, directly to the left of the checkmark icon, if the OnDemand data indicates that the program is suspended. Example: “Expires11/12 at 8:05p” (i.e. November 12) 2.7.2 In a DLA environment, the Guidemay display “Expires” in the user- selected text language, followed bythe expiration date and time in international date format, rightjustified in the listing cell, directly to the left of the checkmarkicon, if the On Demand data indicates that the program is suspended.Example: “Expires 12/11 at 8:05p” (i.e. November 12) 2.8 The Guide maydisplay the program listing cells on the screen in the order programsare specified in the On Demand data, beginning with the top cell andproceeding to the bottom cell. 2.9 The color of the listing cells on theSaved Programs Listing Screen may be blue. 3.0 The Guide may highlightthe screen item that currently has focus. 4.0 The Guide may provide amechanism to page up and down to view additional saved program listingpages. 4.1 Navigation across multiple saved program listing pages maynot be circular, navigation above the top of the list or below thebottom of the list may be disabled. 5.0 The Guide may control thedisplay of the Saved Programs Listing Screen elements. 5.1 The Guide maypostpone display of the listing cells until the listing data isavailable. 5.2 The Guide may display the No Listings Available Screen ifthe server returns an indication that no suspended or bookmarkedprograms are currently available. 6.0 The Guide may support an optionalbarker window on the Saved Programs Listings screen as specified in theOn Demand data. 6.1 The Guide may remove the on-screen display of theSaved Programs Listing Screen between sets of coordinates using a scaleof e.g., 1000x1000 screen pixels when the Saved Programs Listing Screenis displayed and the On Demand data indicates that the barker is enabledin particular positions. 6.2 The Guide may not remove the on-screendisplay to accommodate the barker window when the Saved Programs Listingscreen is displayed and the On Demand data indicates that the barkerwindow is not enabled or the barker window is enabled in variouspositions.

TABLE 62 Illustrative Saved Programs Listing Screen Input Key ProcessingTable No. Key Screen Focus Behavior 1.0 Power Any Normal 2.0 Volume UpAny Normal 3.0 Volume Down Any Normal 4.0 Mute Any Normal 5.0 Channel UpAny Normal 6.0 Channel Down Any Normal 7.0 Bypass Any Normal 8.0 MenuAny Normal 9.0 Guide Any Normal 10.0 Music Any Normal 11.0 Themes AnyNormal 12.0 Search Any Normal 13.0 Settings Any Normal 14.0 Exit Any TheGuide may return to Idle Mode and display Flip Banner. 15.0 Last AnyNormal if the previous screen was not an On Demand video. 15.1 Last AnyThe Guide may display the top-level categories of the On Demand MainMenu and place the focus on the top-left category bar if the previousscreen was an On Demand video. 16.0 Right Arrow Any Inactive 17.0 LeftArrow Any Inactive 18.0 Up Arrow Top Listing The Guide may display theprevious page Cell, any but of listings with lowest selectable listingcell First Page highlighted. 18.1 Up Arrow Top Listing Inactive Cell,First or Only Page 18.2 Up Arrow Other Normal 19.0 Down Arrow Bottomlisting The Guide may display the next page of cell, any but listingswith top listing highlighted. last page 19.1 Down Arrow Bottom listingInactive cell, last page 19.2 Down Arrow Other Normal 20.0 OK ListingCell The Guide may display the On Demand Program Information - NotSuspended Screen for the program if the listing cell represents abookmarked program. 20.1 OK Listing Cell The Guide may display the OnDemand Program Information - Suspended Screen for the program if thelisting cell represents a suspended program. 21.0 Digits 0-9 Any Normal22.0 Scroll Up Any Normal 23.0 Scroll Down Any Normal 24.0 Day ForwardAny Inactive 25.0 Day Back Any Inactive 26.0 Help Any Inactive 27.0 InfoListing Cell The Guide may display the On Demand Program Information -Not Suspended Screen for the program if the listing cell represents abookmarked program. 27.1 Info Listing Cell The Guide may display the OnDemand Program Information - Suspended Screen for the program if thelisting cell represents a suspended program. 28.0 Favorite Any Inactive29.0 Lock Program Normal Listing 30.0 Record Any Inactive 31.0 Stop AnyInactive 32.0 Pause Any Inactive 33.0 Play Any Inactive 34.0 Rewind AnyInactive 35.0 Fast Forward Any Inactive 36.0 PPV Any Normal 37.0 LettersA-Z Any Inactive 38.0 VOD Any Inactive 39.0 Return to Live Any Normal TV40.0 Skip Forward Any Inactive 41.0 Replay Any Inactive 42.0 A AnyInactive 43.0 B Any Inactive 44.0 C Any Inactive 45.0 Digital Any NormalRecordings 46.0 Swap Any Inactive

TABLE 63 Illustrative Saved Programs Listings Screen Other Even HandlingTable No. Event Conditions/Comments 1.0 Screen Timeout This screen maytime out in 2 minutes to the underlying screen. 2.0 Reminder Normal 3.0Scheduled Recording Fires Normal 4.0 Ordered PPV Start Normal 5.0 PPVPurchase Window Inactive Expires 6.0 Current Program Ends Inactive withBarker window, Normal without Barker window 7.0 Data added, deleted orNot Applicable modified in database

TABLE 64 Illustrative Saved Programs Listings Screen/Mode Entry TableNo. Functionality Description 1.0 Guide Initialization The SavedPrograms Listing Screen may be immediately available after startup. 2.0Highlight The default highlight may be the first listing on the page.2.1 Highlight The highlight position may not be remembered when thisscreen is exited 3.0 Display Inclusion Criteria Refer to the system andgeneral description above. 4.0 Sorting/Grouping Criteria The items onthe screen may be displayed in the order received from VOD server 26.5.0 Customization Refer to Table 61.

TABLE 65 Illustrative Saved Programs Listings Screen Formatting No.Functionality Description 1.0 Program Title The label of each listing onthe Saved Programs Listing Screen may be the short title of the video asreturned by the VOD Server 26 unless the video is rated Adult and theHide Adult Titles option is enabled in the Parental Control Setup. 1.1Program Title The label of a listing cell on the Saved Programs ListingScreen may be “Adult Programming” in the user-selected language if therating of the video is Adult and the user has enabled the Hide AdultTitles option in the Parental Control Setup. 2.0 Time Normal 3.0 ChannelNot Applicable 4.0 Other Text Not Applicable 5.0 Colors The color of thelisting cells may be blue. 6.0 Indicators Program Indicators may bedisplayed as applicable, right justified within the instant informationarea in the following order of priority (displayed left to right):Lock/Un-Lock Closed Caption HDTV Dolby Digital Audio Wide Screen TVRating/Movie Rating Purchase or Checkmark Indicator Bookmarked In aPlaylist If the full title and all active indicators do not fit withinthe Instant Information area, then one or more of the lowest priorityindicators may be omitted as necessary. 6.1 Indicators The iconassociated with the menu option used to access the Saved ProgramsListing screen may be displayed to the left of the screen title in thesaved program listing area header. 6.2 Indicators An up or down arrowicon may be displayed to indicate the availability of additional pagesof listings. 7.0 Branding The On Demand brand provided by the system maybe displayed left-justified within the screen header area. 8.0 Audio Ifa video barker is provided, the audio may correspond to that barker. 8.1Audio If no video barker window is displayed, the audio may be normal.9.0 LEDs The Guide may display the last user channel or current time onthe LED according to the description provided in the Appendix fortime/channel display on the LED.

When the viewer elects to delete a video from the Saved Programs ListingScreen, the Guide may display a confirmation overlay explaining theoperation that they are about to perform and requesting confirmationbefore proceeding. FIG. 25 shows an illustrative Delete VideoConfirmation Overlay. Table 66 describes illustrative behaviors of theIPG and/or VOD server 26 in connection with providing such an overlay.

For the purposes of the Delete Confirmation Overlay the “Delete Rental”option is also referred to as the “YES” option and the “Don't DeleteRental” option is also referred to as the “NO” option.

TABLE 66 Illustrative Delete a Video Confirmation Overlay No.Description 1.0 The Guide may display the Delete a Video ConfirmationOverlay when the user selects the Delete option from a Rented VideoInformation screen. 1.1 The Guide may display the title, “DELETECONFIRMATION” in yellow text on the Delete a Video Confirmation Overlayin the language specified by the viewer in the guide setup. 1.2 TheGuide may display the instruction text, “Deleting this video will removeit from your saved video list. You will have to order the video again ifyou wish to watch it, which may result in additional charges Proceedwith deletion?” In white text on the Delete a Video Confirmation Overlayin the language specified by the viewer in the guide setup. 1.3 TheDelete Rental (Yes) button may be displayed on the Delete a VideoConfirmation Overlay by the Guide with the label “Delete Rental” in thelanguage specified by the viewer through the guide setup. 1.4 The Don'tDelete Rental (No) button may be displayed on the Delete a VideoConfirmation Overlay by the Guide with the label “Don't Delete Rental”in the language specified by the viewer through the guide setup. 2.0 Thedefault highlight may be the Don't Delete Rental (No) option. 3.0 If theuser selects the Yes button, the Guide may send a request to the VODServer 26 to delete the video, remove the Delete a Video ConfirmationOverlay, query the VOD Server 26 for the current saved programs, anddisplay the Saved Programs Listing Screen with the current savedprograms returned by the server and the top listing bar highlighted. 4.0If the user selects the No button, the Guide may remove the Delete aVideo Confirmation Overlay and highlight the Delete button. 5.0 Exceptas specified in this section, this confirmation screen may follow thedescription provided in the Common Confirmation Overlay section of theAppendix. 6.0 If the user pressed the Info key while this overlay isdisplayed, the Guide may remove the Delete a Video Confirmation Overlayand highlight the Delete button.Section IV. Illustrative Playlist Transport Bar

A playlist transport bar according to the invention provides an overlaywhich graphically represents assets of a playlist in a manner thatenables a user to easily ascertain a playback position within theplaylist and within a particular asset.

A playlist transport bar may be displayed in response to any number ofdifferent user inputs. For example, a user input device may have aplaylist transport bar button which causes the playlist transport bar tobe displayed when pressed. The transport bar may be removed when thebutton is pressed again. The playlist transport bar may be displayedwhen the user issues a stop, pause, fast-forward, rewind, play, resume,or any other command that affects playback of an asset. For example, theplaylist transport bar may be displayed for a predetermined period oftime in response to a pause or stop command. After the predeterminedperiod of time expires, the interactive media application may substituteother content in place of the pause or stopped media to prevent screenburn-in. As another example, the playlist transport bar may be displayedwhile the user is issuing a fast-forward or rewind command. When theuser resumes playback of assets in the playlist, the playlist transporttoolbar may be displayed for a predetermined period of time before it isremoved from the screen. In yet another example, the playlist transportbar may be displayed when the user is navigating among various elementsof the transport bar (discussed below in more detail in connection withFIGS. 32-36).

FIGS. 26 and 27 show illustrative transport bars for playing back assetsof a playlist. FIG. 26 shows an illustrative transport bar 2602 that theinteractive television application (e.g., IPG) may display on screen2600 when the user begins playing back a program from a playlist (suchas by, for example, selecting the resume or restart icons of FIGS. 6-9).

FIG. 27 shows an illustrative playlist transport bar that may bedisplayed when a user pauses playback in accordance with an embodimentof the invention. In some embodiments, users may stop playback, whichmay result in having an illustrative playlist transport bar bedisplayed. In other embodiments, the interactive television applicationmay stop playback automatically after the playlist has been paused for aperiod of time. Users may resume playback of a paused or stopped programby, for example, selecting the resume icon of FIGS. 6-9 or by pressing aplay button on a remote device.

Playlist transport bar 2602 may display information such as the title ofthe currently playing program (shown here as Lost, Episode 2), the nameof the playlist (shown here as Jane's Playlist), and the total amount oftime of programming in the entire playlist (shown here as 4:54).Playlist transport bar 2602 may include position indication region 2610and asset regions 2622, 2624, and 2626.

Position indication region 2610 may provide a visual indicator of theplayback position and may include position needle 2612 and informationregion 2614. Position needle 2612 may be a graphical object (e.g., avertical bar) overlaying a portion of one of the asset regions. As shownin FIG. 26, position needle 2612 is at the beginning of asset region2622, and in this particular embodiment, is also shown at the beginningof the playlist. As a particular asset is played back, positionindication region 2610 may advance, from left-to-right, through theasset region corresponding to that asset, and as multiple assets areplayed back from the playlist, position indication region 2610 mayadvance through one asset region and then advance through the next.

Information region 2614 may display time information indicating, forexample, how much time has elapsed in a currently playing asset, howmuch playback time is remaining in the currently playing asset, how muchtime has elapsed in playback of the playlist, how much playback time isremaining in the playlist, or any combination thereof. Note that theelapsed time is meant to represent the time it takes for normal speed,uninterrupted, playback of assets in the playlist. Thus, if a userfast-forwards through or skips an asset, the time displayed ininformation region 2614 is indicative of the time it would have taken toreach the new playback position at a normal uninterrupted speed.However, it will be appreciated that, in an alternative embodiment tothe foregoing, the actual time spent accessing (e.g., viewing) assets inthe playlist may be displayed. Information region 2614 also includes theplayback action indicator, shown here as a play indicator. The playbackaction indicator may change to a pause indicator while the playback ofthe playlist is paused, to a reverse play indicator while the playlistis being played in the reverse direction, to a fast-forward indicatorwhile the playlist is being fast-forwarded, and to a rewind indicatorwhile the playlist is being rewound. If desired, different indicatorsmay be used for different speeds of play, reverse play, rewind, andfast-forward.

As playback of an asset progresses, both position needle 2612 andinformation region 2614 may move concomitantly. This is illustrated inFIG. 27 in which both position needle 2712 and information region 2714are shown connected together even though two hours and fifty-six minutesof programming has played back. It will be appreciated that in otherembodiments the information region may remain in a fixed location (e.g.,the far left-hand side of the transport bar), while the position needleadvances in connection with playback of the programming in the playlist.In other embodiments, the position needle and information region mayremain stationary, while the asset regions move to the left as playbackprogresses.

Referring now back to FIG. 26, each of asset regions 2622, 2624, and2626 may correspond to an asset (e.g., program) in a playlist (e.g.,Jane's Playlist). For example, asset region 2622 may correspond to afirst asset (e.g., Lost, Episode 2, which is shown being played back onscreen 2600) in the playlist. Asset region 2624 may correspond to thenext asset (e.g., Men In Black) in the playlist to be played back, andasset region 2626 may correspond to the asset following the assetcorresponding to asset region 2624.

A number of different approaches may be taken with respect to thedisplay of the asset regions. The asset regions may be displayed in arectangular fashion, where the regions are attached end-to-end, andwhere the regions are clearly delineated to clearly indicate where oneasset region ends and another begins. Moreover, the regions may exhibitcertain attributes (e.g., colors or highlighting) to further distinguishone region from another. For example, the region currently being playedback may be colored different than the other regions. As anotherexample, the regions may be colored to represent the theme or genre ofthe asset. It is understood that many various ways of presenting theregions may be implemented and that such presentation techniques arelargely a matter of design choice. Therefore, various display techniques(e.g., asset region shapes, coloring, and highlighting, etc.) notspecifically mentioned herein may be applied to the playlist transportbar.

FIG. 26 is merely an illustrative of such a display screen including aplaylist transport control bar. Other suitable arrangements may be used.For example, information such as asset title, channel, any othersuitable programming-related information, advertisements, logos, or anycombination thereof may be displayed within or in association with theplaylist transport bar.

Any number of different approaches may be practiced in determining thenumber of asset regions displayed in the playlist transport bar at agiven time and the space occupied by each displayed asset region. FIG.28 shows an illustrative playlist transport bar 2802 that displays anasset region for each asset in the playlist. This approach ensures thatplaylist transport bar 2802 includes regions representative of theentire playlist. Thus, when a user views playlist transport bar 2802,the user can quickly determine how far along he is in the playback ofthe playlist.

If the playlist includes, for example, five assets, the playlisttransport bar displays five asset regions corresponding to those fiveassets. The interactive media guidance application may allocate anappropriate size for each asset region, while optionally taking intoaccount factors such as the run-length of each asset, in order tosimultaneously display regions for each asset in the playlist. As shown,playlist transport bar 2802 includes five regions, regions 2821, 2822,2823, 2824, and 2825, each of which are apportioned space based on theirrelative lengths. For example, asset regions 2822, 2823, and 2825 mayrepresent half-hour shows, asset region 2821 may represent an hour show,and region 2824 may represent a two-hour show.

FIG. 29 shows an illustrative playlist transport bar 2902 in which thenumber of regions displayed are limited in number so as to not saturatetransport bar 2902 with regions corresponding to all the potentialassets of a playlist, thereby potentially making it difficult for usersto quickly and easily differentiate different regions. In this approacha relatively small number of regions (e.g., 2-6) may be displayed in theplaylist transport bar. This way, if the playlist includes a largenumber of assets, playlist transport bar 2902 may display just a fewregions such as, for example, the regions centered around the regioncurrently being played back.

Moreover, by limiting the number of regions displayed in playlisttransport bar 2902 at any given time, this allows the interactive mediaguidance application to allocate an appropriate predetermined minimumamount of space to each displayed region. In FIG. 29, playlist transportbar 2902 corresponds to a playlist having nine hours and forty-fiveminutes of programming, but is only able to display, for example, fourhours of programming at any given time. For example, regions 2921 and2923 may represent hour long programs and region 2922 may represent atwo hour long program. As can be seen, the spacing allotted to eachregion accurately reflects the length of a particular asset with respectto the other shown assets. That is, region 2922 (a two hour asset)occupies approximately twice the space as region 2921 (an hour longasset).

The interactive media guidance application may position the currentlyplayed back region 2922 in the center of playlist transport bar andplace other regions or portions thereof on either side of the currentlyplayed region. In FIG. 29, position indication region 2910 is positionedat region 2922, indicating that the asset corresponding to region 2922is being played back. Because region 2922 is the current region, region2921 may be placed before it, and region 2923 may be placed after it.When position indication region 2910 advances to region 2923, theinteractive media guidance application may position region 2923 in thecenter of playlist transport bar 2902, resulting in playlist transportbar 2904 of FIG. 30. FIG. 30 shows region 2923 positioned near thecenter, with a portion of region 2922 located left of region 2923 andregions 2924 and 2925 located right of region 2923. As shown with region2922, a region at the start or end of the display may be truncated,showing only a portion of its allocated length. In some embodiments, atruncated asset region may be displayed differently than a whole assetregion, for example with a ragged edge or an arrowhead-shaped end.

As an alternative to the embodiment discussed in connection with FIGS.29 and 30, the playlist transport bar may only be able to display up toa predetermined number of hours of programming. Thus, if the number ofhours of programming in the playlist exceeds the number of hours thatcan be displayed at any given time, the playlist transport bar maydisplay only regions or portions thereof totaling the number of hoursthat can be displayed at any give time. In embodiments in which theentire playlist length is not shown on screen, an indicator may be shownat the start and/or end of the playlist transport bar to inform the userthat additional assets are available. For example, an arrow or anellipsis may be used to indicate additional assets prior to orsubsequent to the displayed asset regions.

FIG. 31 shows a playlist transport bar 3102 that may be displayed whenthe interactive media guidance application executes a command thataffects playback of an asset in the playlist such as fast-forward,rewind, skip asset, replay asset, or any other function which may or maynot be directly supported by a remote device (e.g., remote control). Forexample, when a user initiates a fast-forward command through an asset,playlist transport toolbar 3102 may be displayed for at least theduration of the fast-forward. While fast-forwarding, position indicationregion 3110 may be shown rapidly progressing from left-to-right and thetime displayed in information region 3114 may be shown elapsing at afast-forwarded pace. In addition, information region 3114 may display aconventional fast-forward symbol to signify to the user that a fastforward command is being implemented. It will be appreciated thatinformation region 3114 may indicate a current action status (e.g.,play, rewind, fast-forward, pause, or any other suitable mode) in theform of an icon, as illustrated in FIG. 31, text, or any other suitableform.

FIGS. 32, 33, 34A-B, 35A-B, and 36 show several illustrative playlisttransport bars in which a user may navigate a highlight region withinthe playlist transport bar, and, if desired, cause a particular actionto occur in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Referring nowto FIG. 32, the user may navigate a highlight region 3218 (currentlyhighlighting asset region 3221) to various elements of transport bar3202. For example, a user may navigate highlight region 3218 to any oneof asset regions 3221, 3222, 3223, or, in some embodiments (such as anembodiment in which a limited number of regions can be displayed), toregions not currently displayed. The user may navigate highlight region3218 to position indication region 3210 or playlist name 3230. Theinteractive media guidance application may execute a predeterminedfunction in response to a user navigating an element in the playlisttransport bar or user selection of a highlighted element. For example,the interactive media guidance application may display an informationoverlay 3240 containing information related to the asset correspondingto asset region 3221 when the user highlights asset region 3221. If theuser highlights an asset region and selects the asset, for example bypressing a Select key on the remote control, the interactive mediaguidance application may immediate commence playback of the selectedasset.

FIG. 33 shows an illustrative playlist transport bar 3302 in which ahighlight region 3318 has been navigated to playlist name 3330. As shownin FIG. 33, after the user navigates a highlight region to or selectsplaylist name 3330, several names of playlists may be displayed. Theseplaylists may include playlists previously created by a user orplaylists provided by a system operator. Displaying the availableplaylists gives the user the option to load in a different playlist bynavigating to and selecting a particular playlists. When a new playlistis selected, the user may be prompted with a confirmation screen, andupon confirmation, the interactive media guidance application maycommence playback of the selected playlist and display a playlisttransport bar tailored to the selected playlist.

FIGS. 34A-B show before and after screen shots, respectively,illustrating how a user may manually drag and drop a position indicationregion to any desired location in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. FIG. 34A shows position needle 3412 highlighted withhighlight region 3418. Note that information region 3414 specifies atime of forty-five minutes. When the user selects the highlightedposition needle, the interactive television program guide may enter a“drag and place mode” that permits the user to manually move positionindication region 3410 to another location (e.g., another region) using,for example, pressing buttons (e.g., left and right cursor buttons) on aremote device. FIG. 34B shows that the user moved position indicationregion 3410 back five minutes (as indicated by information region 3414)with respect to the location of position indication region 3410 in FIG.34A.

When the user has placed position indication region 3410 in a desiredlocation, the user may exit the drag and place mode in any number ofdifferent ways. For example, the user may deselect position indicationregion 3410 by pressing a particular button (e.g., an exit button or aplay button or a select button) or by navigating away from positionindication region 3410. Note that as position indication region 3402 ismoved, the time information may change accordingly, and the displayedname of assets in playlist may change as needle position 3412 ispositioned at different regions. When the new playback position isselected, the interactive media guidance application may commenceplayback at the newly selection asset and time.

FIGS. 35A-B show before and after screen shots, respectively,illustrating how a user may use a “skip to next region” function to movethe location of position indication region 3510 in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The “skip to next region” function mayadvance position indication region 3510 to the beginning of an adjacentasset region. The skip to next region function may be invoked whenposition needle 3512 is selected, as shown in FIG. 35A. When the userpresses a button (e.g., up/down arrow buttons, next/previous pagebuttons, or dedicated next/previous buttons) on a remote device,position indication region may skip to the next region.

FIG. 35B illustrates the result of the skip function when the userpresses, for example, a right arrow button once. As shown, positionindication region skips from region 3521 to the beginning of region3522. If the user presses the right arrow button again, positionindication region may skip to the beginning of region 3523.

If the user presses the left arrow button, position indication region3510 may either advance to the beginning of the region in which positionindication region 3510 is currently overlaying or to the beginning ofthe region adjacent to the region in which position indication region3510 is currently overlaying. As an alternative embodiment, positionindication region 3510 may advance to the beginning of a previous regiononly if position indication region 3510 is at the beginning of theregion it is currently positioned at.

FIG. 36 shows an illustrative screen shot of playlist transport bar 3602that may be displayed when a user navigates a highlight region to, forexample, information region 3614 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown, when information region 3614 is highlightedwith highlight region 3618, playlist options menu 3640 may be displayed.Playlist options menu 3640 may provide a user with an opportunity toexecute one of many different functions with respect to the assetassociated with the region currently indicated by position indicationregion 3610, or with respect to the current position in that asset. Theuser may execute one of these functions by navigating highlight regionto a desired function and select a pre-determined button on a remotedevice.

The functions included in playlist options menu 3640 may provide addedflexibility in manipulating playback of assets in the playlist, to editthe playlist, or to access information on various assets in theplaylist. For example, a user may select delete asset 3641 to delete anasset from the playlist, select skip asset 3642 to skip playback of theasset, select repeat asset 3643 to repeat play of the asset, or selectinformation for this asset 3644 to view additional information on theasset.

In addition, play this asset next 3645 may be selected to have thisasset play next, regardless of the order it appears in the playlist.Selection of play this asset 3645 may result in a re-ordering of theplaylist. Furthermore, play this asset now 3646 may be selected to causethis asset to begin substantially immediate playback. Note that thefunctions included in playlist options menu 3640 are largely a matter ofdesign choice and are not limited to the specific examples discussedherein. More detailed information and additional examples of functionsthat may be included in a playlist options menu may be found inco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/324,191, filed Dec. 29,2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety. Examples of other functions that may be accessed fromsuch a menu include setting a mark at the current location in thecurrent asset that can be jumped to easily at a later time, jumping to apreviously selected marked location; selecting a specific asset to beginplaying, selecting a specific playback offset in the current asset atwhich to begin playback, and jumping forward or backwards in theplaylist by a user-specified number of seconds or minutes.

Note, playlist options menu 3640 may be displayed or accessed in waysother than that mentioned herein. For example, a remote device mayinclude a button which when pressed may cause playlist options menu 3640to be displayed, regardless of whether a highlight region has beennavigated to information region 3614. In another approach, playlistoptions menu 3640 may be displayed only after the user selectshighlighted information region 3614 using, for example a remote device.

FIG. 37 is a flow chart illustrating the display of a playlist transportbar in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Beginning at step3702, a playlist is provided. This playlist may be one of many playlistsavailable which the interactive media guidance application may use fordisplaying a playlist transport bar according to the invention. At step3704, the interactive media guidance application may display a playlisttransport bar for the playlist. The playlist transport bar may includeasset regions that correspond to assets in the playlist and a positionindication region to provide an indication of a playback position withinthe playlist. When the playlist transport bar is displayed, severaldifferent actions may be taken. For example, the position indicationregion may be moved (e.g., manually by a user) to a new position in theplaylist transport bar. Another example action may include navigating ahighlight region to access additional information relating to an assetor other features available in connection with the playlist transportbar (e.g., playlist options menu of FIG. 36).

Section V. VOD Information Screen

In some embodiments, the interactive television application (e.g., IPG),may provide users with access to playlist and bookmark features from aVOD program information screen. FIGS. 38 and 39 show illustrative VODinformation screens that may be provided in response to, for example, auser selecting a VOD program listing from a VOD program listingsdisplay.

In FIG. 38, the selected program is a free VOD program and anillustrative playlist icon is highlighted. In this embodiment, only freeVOD programs may be added to playlists. In other embodiments, non-freeVOD programs and other types of programs may be added to playlists.

In FIG. 39, the selected program is a non-free VOD program and anillustrative bookmark icon is highlighted. In other embodiments, freeVOD programs and other types of programs may be bookmarked.

In response to a user selecting the playlist icon of FIG. 38, theinteractive television application may present an overlay allowing auser to select a playlist to which the program will be added, such asthe Select A Playlist Overlay of FIG. 11 for example. If no playlistsare set, the interactive television application may instead present anoverlay that indicates no playlists are set, such as the Illustrative NoPlaylists Set Overlay of FIG. 3 for example.

In response to a user selecting the bookmark icon of FIG. 39, theinteractive television application may present an overlay allowing theuser to confirm the marking of the program, such as the Bookmark aProgram Confirmation Overlay of FIG. 21.

The above described embodiments of the present invention are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentinvention is limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for displaying a playlist of mediaassets using an interactive media guidance application, the methodcomprising: receiving a user input to display a first media asset from aplaylist including a first media asset, a second media asset, and athird media asset; generating for display, the first media asset at userequipment; generating for display, a transport bar overlaying the firstmedia asset, wherein the transport bar includes a first portionrepresenting the first media asset, a second portion representing thesecond media asset, and a third portion representing the third mediaasset based on a determination that a total number of media assets inthe playlist is less than a threshold maximum number of portions of thetransport bar; monitoring playback progression of the first media assetto display a playback position indicator within the first portion at thetransport bar, the playback position indicator providing access to aplaylist options menu when selected; generating for display, the secondmedia asset when the first media asset is finished; and in response togenerating for display the second media asset when the first media assetis finished, moving the playback position indicator from the firstportion to the second portion to indicate playback progression of thesecond media asset; and in response to receiving a user selection of adelete option in the playlist option menu: removing the second portionfrom the transport bar.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:generating for display, at least one of an elapsed playback time of theplaylist and an elapsed playback time of one of the first media assetand the second media asset.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a user request to move the playback position froma first position within the first portion to a second position withinthe second portion; and in response to the user request: switching fromplaying back the first media asset to the second media asset; andplaying back the second media asset from the second position that theplayback position was moved to.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a command to select one or more portions to bedisplayed at the transport bar, wherein the one or more portionscorrespond to one or more media assets from the playlist; and inresponse to the command, arranging the selected one or more portionswithin the transport bar.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:generating for display, at least one of: a name of the playlist in aplaylist information region in proximity to the transport bar; a name ofa media asset being played back corresponding to a location of theplayback position in proximity to the transport bar; or a total playtimeof all media assets in the playlist in the playlist information region.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: allowing a user to load adifferent playlist while accessing the playlist transport bar.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: allowing a user to modify theplaylist while accessing the playlist transport bar.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: initiating the interactive media guidanceapplication running selected from a group consisting of an interactivetelevision program guide, an online television program guide, and aWebsite.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the playlist options menucomprises options for adding and removing media assets in the playlist.10. A system for displaying a playlist of media assets using aninteractive media guidance application, the system comprising: userinterface circuitry configured to receive a user input to display afirst media asset from a playlist including a first media asset, asecond media asset and a third media asset; control circuitry configuredto: generate for display, the first media asset at user equipment;generate for display, a transport bar overlaying the first media asset,wherein the transport bar includes a first portion representing thefirst media asset a second portion representing the second media asset,and a third portion representing the third media asset based on adetermination that a total number of media assets in the playlist isless than a threshold maximum number of portions of the transport bar;monitor playback progression of the first media asset to display aplayback position indicator within the first portion at the transportbar, the playback position indicator providing access to a playlistoptions menu when selected; generate for display the second media assetwhen the first media asset is finished; and in response to generatingfor display, the second media asset when the first media asset isfinished, move playback position indicator from the first portion to thesecond portion to indicate playback progression of the second mediaasset; and in response to receiving a user selection of a delete optionin the playlist option menu: remove the second portion from thetransport bar.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitryis configured to: generate for display, at least one of an elapsedplayback time of the playlist and an elapsed playback time of one of thefirst media asset and the second media asset.
 12. The system of claim10, wherein the user interface circuitry is further configured toreceive a user request to move the playback position from a firstposition within the first portion to a second position within the secondportion, and the control circuitry is further configured to: in responseto the user request: switch from playing back the first media asset tothe second media asset; and play back the second media asset from thesecond position that the playback position was moved to.
 13. The systemof claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is configured to: receive acommand to select one or more portions to be displayed at the transportbar, wherein the one or more portions correspond to one or more mediaassets from the playlist; and in response to the command, arrange theselected one or more portions within the transport bar.
 14. The systemof claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is configured to: generatefor display, at least one of: a name of the playlist in a playlistinformation region in proximity to the transport bar; a name of a mediaasset being played back corresponding to a location of the playbackposition in proximity to the transport bar; or a total playtime of allmedia assets in the playlist in the playlist information region.
 15. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is configured to:allow a user to load a different playlist while accessing the playlisttransport bar.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitryis configured to: allow a user to modify the playlist while accessingthe playlist transport bar.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein thecontrol circuitry is configured to: initiate the interactive mediaguidance application running selected from a group consisting of aninteractive television program guide, an online television programguide, and a Website.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein the playlistoptions menu comprises options for adding and removing media assets inthe playlist.